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THE 



HAND-BOOK 



LLANDUDNO 

AND ITS VICINITY, 



BY JOHN HICKLIN; 



ILLUSTEATI0N8 FBOM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS, 

BY W. WILLIS; 

AND 

A MAP OF THE DISTRICT. 



FOUETH THOUSAND. 



LONDON: WHITTAKER & CO. 

CATHEEALL AND PRICHARD, CHESTER 

CATHEKALL AND NIXON, BANGOR, 



NOTICE. 

Compilers and Publishers of Guide-books are cautioned against infring- 
ing the Copyright of this Publication, for the protection of which the 
necessary arrangements have been effected. 






ENTERED AT STATIONERS' HAEL. 



5£0"°i 



'0^ 



PREFACE. 

In publishing the following sketch of the past history and the 
present condition of Llandudno, the picturesque beauties, the 
ancient remains, and the modern marvels which abound in its 
immediate vicinity and the neighbouring town of Conway, it 
has been the object of the Author to combine useful information 
with intellectual pleasure ; how far he has succeeded his readers 
will determine. The rapid sale of the First Edition, he trusts, 
may be regarded as an indication of public approval ; and in 
now issuing a Second Edition, he begs to state that the work 
has been carefully revised, and all new matters of interest 
noted. With good wishes for the prosperous progress of 
Llandudno, he commits this " Illustrated Hand-Book " to 
public favour, in the hope that it may be found a desirable 
' ' Guide " for the Tourist, and a welcome companion for the 
domestic circle. 



Chester, July, 1858. 



ILLUSTRATIONS 



ENGKAVLNGS. 
Plan to face Title Page. 

Llandudno Bay to face page 3 

Llandudno " as it is to be " . . 8 

Queen's Hotel . . 20 

Cliff Walk 20 

Gloddaeth Crescent . . 22 

Public Baths . . 22 

St. Tudno's Church . . 39 

Telegraph Station . . 39 

Eglwys Bhos (Llanrhos) . . 98 

St. George's Church . . 90 

Conway from Llandudno Koad . . 116 

Snowdon from Capel Curig . . 14.6 



WOOD OUTS. 



Aber 

Bangor 

Beaumaris 

Britannia Tubular Bridge 

Bettws-y-Coed 

Capel Curig 

Chapel in Gwydir Wood . 
Conway Tubular Bridge . 

Penmaen Mawr 

Penrhyn Castle 

Llanrwst Bridge 

Snowdon 

Swallow Waterfall 



151 

154 
162 
157 
145 
149 
143 
113 
80 
155 
142 
146 
144 



I N D E X 









PAGE. 


Aber 






151 


Bangor 






154 


Baths 






22 


Bathing Machines and Fares 






11 


Beaumaris 






161 


Bettws-y-Coed 






145 


Bodafon 






108 


Bodysgallen 






112 


Britannia Tubular Bridge 






157 


Cap el Curig 






146 


Capel Curig to Bangor . . 






148 


Church Walks 






23 


Conway 






113 


Bay 






88 


Castle 






116 


Church 






139 


Suspension Bridge 






114 


Town 






138 


T'nVmlm'* "R"nfl f »'P 






140 


1 1 UUIUdl JJllUKC • 

Vale 






142 



Conway to Bangor 
Cromlechs 
Dolwyddelan 
Drainage 
Dyganwy Castle 
Eglwys Rhos 
Excursions 
Gas Works 
Gloddaeth Crescent 

Hall 

Terrace 

Gogarth Abbey 

Springs 

Hackney Coach Fares . . 
Helig's Warning 
Hornby Cave 

Inundation of Traeth Wylofain . 

Knockers 

Lavan Sands 

Llandudno 

Bay 

First Sale of Land 

Improvement Act 

Local Peculiarities 

Sea Bathing 

Town 

Llandudno to the Menai Bridge . 

Llandrillo-yn-Rhos 

Llangystenin 

Llanrhos 

Llanrwst 

Lletty Fadog 

Llech 



Marl 

Menai Suspension Bridge 

Mines 

Mining Tools of the Ancients 

Moel Siabod 

Mostyn Arms Hotel 

Mountain Scenery 

National Schools 

Natural History 

New Mine 

New Koad 

Nonconformist Meeting House 

Ocean Monarch Ship, Burning of 

Omnibuses 

Ormes Head, the Great 

Ormes Head, the Little 

Packets to Liverpool 

Penmaen Mawr 

Penrhyn 

Pen-y-Ddinas 

Plas Gogarth . . 

Plas Mawr 

Pleasure Boats 

Fares 

Public Baths 

Puffin Island 

Queen's Hotel 

Kailway 

Rhaiadr Mawr 

Rhaiadr-y.Wenol 

Rides and Rambles 

Rocking Stone 

St. George's Harbour Company 



St. George's Hotel 




v\am. 
21 


St. George's Church 




23 


St. Trillo's Chapel 




10!) 


St. Tudno's Church 




39 


Eestoration 




40 


Taliesin the Bard 




91 


Telegraph Station 




32 


The Smuggler, a Tale . . 




35 


Travelling Adventures in 


former days 


149, 153 


Trefriew 




142 


Waterfalls 




144 


Water Supply 




165 


Wreck of the Hornby . . 




05 


Bothsay Castle 


59 




< J 



= 1 

- 
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LLANDUDNO. 




^ORTH WALES, with its lovely valleys, its majestic 
mountains, its placid lakes, and its rural retreats, 
has always been a favourite resort for tourists ; 
but since the introduction of railways, which have added the 
modern wonders of mechanical genius to the picturesque 
antiquities of the " olden time," and multiplied facilities for 
exploring the romantic districts of the Principality, the 
number of visitors has greatly increased ; and every part of 
England is becoming familiar with its scenery, its history, and 
its traditions. Among the more notable spots, which the near 
proximity of the Chester and Holyhead Railway has quickened 
into activity, is the delightfully-situated town of Llandudno, where 
an intelligent spirit of public improvement and commercial 
enterprise is rapidly converting what was lately an obscure 
village, into the most charming bathing-place on the northern 
coast of Wales. Surrounded by a glorious combination of 
marine and mountain scenery, it stands on the margin of a 
semi-circular bay, which stretches between the bold promontories 
known as the Ormes Heads ; and is distant four miles from the 
ancient town of Conway, in the county of Carnarvon. With 
the exception of a few occasional notices respecting its ancient^ 
Mines, and the old Church on the bleak summit of the Great 
Ormes Head, Llandudno is seldom mentioned, and then but 

B 



4 LLANDUDNO. 

briefly, in the many descriptive tours and historic records of which 
North Wales is the subject. It was for centuries an obscure 
village, remote from the " busy haunts of men," and occupied 
only by a few fishermen and miners, whose manners and habits 
were those of primitive simplicity, and w 7 hose dwellings were of 
the rudest structure. The wide tract of land upon which the 
new town of Llandudno now stands, was little better than a 
swampy marsh ; a few wretched huts dotted the sea shore ; and 
some scattered cottages along the mountain slopes, or nestling 
under the protecting cliffs, were the only indications of an 
inhabited district. The natural beauty, however, of its situation, 
the salubrity of its air, and its extraordinary facilities for sea 
bathing, gradually attracted a degree of public attention ; and its 
selection as one of the Telegraph Stations for the line of 
semaphore signals between Holyhead and Liverpool, materially 
helped to bring it into occasional prominence. Families began 
to resort to it as a pleasant place of residence for the summer 
season ; and the fitful but earnest efforts w T hich were made by a 
few visitors, to provide additional accommodation for such as 
resorted thither for health or recreation, stimulated a desire for 
its extension and improvement. St. George's Church, at the 
foot of the hill, was built in 1840, and the little village developed 
other signs of social progress. The estates, of which Llandudno 
forms a part, subsequently came into the possession of the present 
Lord Mostyn, (then the Hon. E. M. Lloyd Mostyn,) who drained 
the sterile plain, improved the roads, and evinced every desire 
to co-operate with the inhabitants in securing to the place the 
benefit of its natural advantages. Numerous applications having 
been made to the agent of the estate for the purchase of building 
sites, it was resolved by the proprietor to offer the land by 
public auction. Messrs. Williams and Jones, of Liverpool, archi- 
tects, and land-agents, were employed to prepare the necessary 



LLANDUDNO. 5 

plans and building regulations ; and the sale took place at the 
old mansion of Plas Mawr, in Conway, on the 28th and 29th of 
August, 1848, when several of the lots were disposed of, and 
many new houses were forthwith commenced. The particulars 
of sale, from which we quote the following extracts, serve to 
illustrate the progress of this popular bathing-place, and 
sufficiently indicate the intentions with which the land was 
submitted to the competition of a public auction : — 

" During the last few years, Llandudno has been gradually 
rising in public estimation as a summer resort and watering 
place. Hundreds of visitors, attracted to its romantic shores, 
have been unable to secure accommodation. Hitherto no steps 
have been taken on a scale commensurate with the demand to 
to provide for the erection of additional houses, or to afford the 
necessary facilities to builders for doing so. The Hon. E. M. 
Lloyd Mostyn has been in possession of the Gloddaeth estate 
about seven years, and he has already done much for the effectual 
drainage of the district. He has had the locality surveyed, and 
a plan prepared, shewing Llandudno and its suburbs, and in 
particular the sites w T hich are now offered for sale. In the first 
instance, they will be submitted by public auction, more particu- 
larly with the object of bringing the land fairly before the 
public. Should any sites remain unsold, they, and other portions 
of this estate, will be on sale by private treaty. 

" Great care has been taken to provide salutary restrictions, 
without making them expensively irksome, and to classify the 
locality, assigning one neighbourhood for large houses and 
another for a smaller description ; thereby giving protection and 
security to the former, without depreciating the value of the 
latter. 

" To ensure proper circulation and ventilation, the streets will 
be wide, and properly levelled, paved, kerbed, and the footpaths 
flagged. 

" With a view to provide for the health and comfort of all who 
may visit or settle in this district, a code of building regulations 
has been prepared and designed to ensure proper sewerage, 
drainage, and uniformity of frontage and elevation, which bestow 
value upon property, to the injury of none. In these days of 
sanitary reform, no doubt visitors give a preference to those 



O LLANDUDNO. 

watering-places which are laid out on the best principles — which 
have wide streets, and roomy and well-drained houses. It is 
intended that Llandudno shall obtain a character as such. At 
the same time, on examination, the clauses will be found only 
reasonable, and, it is to be hoped, unobjectionable to any, 
because they have been framed with a desire that they should 
not have even the semblance of being arbitrary. 

" There are many advantages to the builder here over other 
places, inasmuch as there is abundance of stone, sand, and lime 
(stone) to be had on the spot. Timber is as cheap as in Liver- 
pool, and slates are much lower in price. As in most country 
places, the price of labour is low as compared with that paid in 
large towns." 

The advance of the place to the importance of a town soon 
demonstrated the want of an effective system of local govern- 
ment, and accordingly a parish meeting to consider the necessity 
of applying to Parliament for a local Improvement Act was held 
on the 6th of October, 1853, under the presidency of the Hon. 
E. M. Lloyd Mostyn. The requisite plans for securing all 
desirable works of drainage and water supply were prepared ; and 
in the Session of 1854, an Act was passed " for paving, lighting, 
watching, draining, supplying with water, watering, cleansing, 
regulating, and otherwise improving the town of Llandudno, in 
the county of Carnarvon ; for making a cemetery, and for 
establishing and regulating a market and market-place therein ; 
and for other purposes." The administration of the Act is 
entrusted to a Board of twenty-one Commissioners, seven of 
whom are annually elected on the third Thursday in July ; the 
first Commissioners named in the Act being the Honourable 
Thomas Edward Mostyn Lloyd Mostyn ; Reverend Edward 
Thomas Evans, M.A ; John Jones, Esquire ; David Williams, 
Esquire ; William Taylor, Esquire ; Edwin Gwyther, Esquire ; 
Edward Moore, Esquire ; Mr. Thomas Alexander Jones ; Mr. 
Thomas Parry ; Mr. Thomas Jones ; Mr. Thomas Roberts ; 
Mr. James Williams ; Mr. Joseph Hughes ; Mr. David Lloyd : 



LLANDUDNO. / 

Mr. Hugh Hughes ; Mr. Joseph Evans ; Mr. 0. Thomas ; 

Mr. William Prichard ; Mr. William Bridge ; Mr. William 

Evans; together with Standish Motte, Esquire, a Director 

of the St. George's Harbour Company, or on his resignation 

or ceasing to be a Director, some other person to be appointed 

by the said Company in his stead from time to time. 

The qualifications of Commissioners and Electors are thus 

prescribed by the Act : — 

" That every Commissioner under this Act shall have the 
following qualification (that is to say : — He shall be of the age 
of twenty-one years, and either a resident within the limits of 
this Act, and liable to be rated under the provisions of this Act, 
for any messuages, lands, or hereditaments, within the limits of 
this act, to the annual value of twenty pounds or upwards ; or 
he shall be seized or possessed (whether resident or not within 
the limits of this Act) as owner or lessee, or be in the enjoyment 
for his own use of the rents and profits of any messuages, lands, 
or hereditaments, within the limits of this Act, so liable to be 
rated as aforesaid, of the annual value of thirty pounds for an 
original estate, term or period of not less than fifty years. 

" That any Director of a Company or member of a Corporation 
nominated by any Company or Corporation, rated to the rates to 
be made under the provisions of this Act to the amount of twenty 
pounds or upwards, owning property liable to be rated to the 
amount of thirty pounds, within the limits of this Act, shall be 
duly qualified to be appointed a Commissioner under this Act. 

" And with reference to every election of Commissioners, be it 
enacted, That every adult male owner of property within the 
limits of this Act, and every adult male person who, and every 
Corporation or Company which, shall be rated to the rates to be 
made under the provisions of this Act, in respect of any property 
within the said town and limits, and who shall, seven days at 
least before the day of election of the Commissioners, have paid 
all the said rates which shall have become payable by him or 
them in respect of such property, at any time previously to the 
commencement of the third month before such election, shall be 
entitled to vote at every election of Commissioners under this 
Act." 



LLANDUDNO. 



Mr. John Williams, of Bodafon, is Clerk to the Commissioners, 
whose meetings are held on the last Thursday in each month. 
In putting the Improvement Act into operation, it was found 
necessary to prepare a trigonometrical survey of the boundary 
included within its provisions, and accordingly, during the winter 
of 1854-55, plans of the utmost importance to the health, 
comfort, and welfare of the town, were completed by Mr. F. 
Macdougall Smith, C.E., of London, whose scheme with reference 
to drainage and water supply we shall hereafter take occasion to 
describe. To secure all practical means of maturing the projects 
for making Llandudno one of the most attractive and fashionable 
watering places in the United Kingdom, Messrs. Wehnert and 
Ashdown, architects, of Charing Cross, London, have been 
engaged ; and a new map of the town, prepared by those 
gentlemen with much taste and ability, has been sanctioned and 
adopted by the Commissioners. Broad streets, wide parapets, 
handsome squares, convenient sites for public buildings, com- 
modious terraces, beautiful walks, marine parades, and spacious 
recreation grounds, are the characteristic features of their plans : 
including also many admirable designs for architectural elevations, 
which it will be incumbent on the builders of new houses to 
adopt. The tenure upon which plots of land for building- 
purposes are sold is leasehold for ninety-nine years, and the 
purchasers of prescribed lots are bound to erect their houses 
after designs appended by the surveyors of the lessors. Messrs. 
Wehnert and Ashdown have also issued a remarkably fine view 
of Llandudno "as it will be," when the proposed improvements 
are completed ; an engraving from which, with their kind 
permission, we have the pleasure of including among our illustra- 
tions. The co-operation of Mr. Westmacott, of London, solicitor, 
in carrying out the contemplated extensions has also been 
obtained : while Mr. Reece, and other influential parties of 




* 1 






fe 



LLANDUDNO. 9 

Birmingham, have effectually aided in promoting the progress 
of the rising town, whose situation and advantages must 
command for it a prominent position in public estimation^ 

Llandudno, though situated in a comparatively secluded 
district, is easily accessible from the populous towns of the 
British empire. ' Well-appointed steam-packets, which ply regu- 
larly between Liverpool and the Menai Straits, call daily to land 
or embark passengers at Llandudno, the voyage to which from 
Liverpool usually occupies about three hours,, The landscape, 
as viewed from the sea on approaching the shore, is remarkably 
picturesque and beautiful. To the right, towers the majestic 
promontory of the Great Ormes Head, with its grey cliffs and 
romantic rocks ; on the left, the Little Ormes Head stretches its 
craggy steeps into the waves, which leap with foaming bright- 
ness into its sequestered caverns ; and between these mountain 
guards of the " happy valley," the waters of the ocean, in then- 
transparent greenness, gently roll their flashing billows into the 
crescent bay, whose high-water mark is beautifully fringed with 
a white margin of remarkable stones and pebbles, which invari- 
ably attract the examination of the curious and the intelligent ; 
and whose extended beach, stretching in its semi-circular sweep 
nearly three miles, forms a most charming promenade. 

The bay is skirted by the Marine Parade, along which are 
erected extensive ranges of handsome houses, including two 
spacious hotels, for the accommodation of visitors. In front of 
those commodious residences runs a spacious carriage road, 
between which and the sea there is a verdant lawn, affording 
pleasant facilities for enjoying at leisure the exhilarating breezes 
which invigorate the valetudinarian, and the fine views which 
possess unfailing charms for the tourist in search of pleasure or 
" the picturesque." 

The extraordinary advantages which nature has made available 



10 LLANDUDNO. 

for establishing Llandudno as a watering-place, have doubtless 
been the great inducements whereby a spirit of enterprise has 
been attracted to found on its shores a rising town, which it 
needs no spirit of prophecy to foretell, must become one of the 
most popular and most frequented marine resorts in the British 
Isles. Its accommodations for sea-bathing are safe, excellent, 
and almost unrivalled. The sands, which are remarkably 
smooth and firm, stretch for a considerable distance by a gentle 
declivity into the sea ; the flow and ebb of the tide are so gradual 
that children and the most timid ladies may enjoy a refreshing 
plunge in the water without fear ; while the more venturesome 
swimmer may take the invigorating exercise without danger. 
Another advantage to be specially noted, consists in the facility 
which is here obtainable of bathing at any state of the tide ; for 
the water at the ebb does not, as at many other places, leave a 
wide wilderness of loose sands ; but, in its return to " the mighty 
main," there is always left a sufficient depth for bathing within 
easy reach ; so that go to Llandudno at what hour you may, it is 
never deserted by the sea, and none need be disappointed of an 
open-air bath. But another peculiar advantage of its natural 
position as a bathing-place yet remains to be observed. Besides 
the bay which we are describing, there is another bay on the 
Conway shore of this delightfully situated town, distant not quite 
a mile across the plain from the former one ; but with so different 
an aspect, that when Llandudno Bay is lashed into excitement 
by tempestuous winds, Conway Bay is calm and quiet ; and when 
the latter is ruffled, the other is still. In both cases the beach is 
smooth and hard, so that the resolute bather need seldom 
complain of missing his " pastime in the deep." 

The Bay of Llandudno on the eastern shore is, however, the 
most convenient and enjoyable bathing-place ; and there may be 
found every comfortable accommodation which well-appointed 



LLANDUDNO. 11 

caravans, civil attendants, cleanly arrangements, and judicious 
regulations, can ensure. The intelligent attention of the local 
authorities has been directed to the importance of securing, in 
this respect, every desirable provision for the convenience and 
satisfaction of visitors ; and an observance of a well-considered 
code of rules is invariably required and enforced. 

EXTRACTS FROM THE BYE-LAWS 

FOR THE REGULATION OF BATHING MACHINES FOR HIRE, WITHIN 
THE LIMITS OF *THE LLANDUDNO IMPROVEMENT ACT. 

That licenses be granted (by the Commissioners) to authorise 
the owner or owners of bathing machines, and all persons 
employed by him, her, or them for that purpose, to ply for hire 
on the sea beaches and sands in front of and within the limits 
of the said town, and at such place or places as are hereinafter 
mentioned ; and that on any complaint being made by or 
against any owner or owners, attendant or attendants of any 
machine, before any Justice of the Peace, such owner or owners 
shall, on the request of any such Justice, produce and show his, 
their, or her license, under the penalty or forfeiture of a sum 
not exceeding forty shillings for every non-compliance with such 
request. 

That no license shall be granted unless the person or persons 
applying for the same is or are bond fide owner or owners of the 
machine or machines for which any such license, as aforesaid, 
shall be applied for, nor unless such person or persons shall be 
a resident or residents in the town and parish of Llandudno 
aforesaid, and that every such owner, as aforesaid, shall produce 
a certificate, under the hands of two respectable inhabitants of 
the said town, that such owner is w r ell known to them, and is of 
good character. 

That the words " Bathing Machine for Gentlemen," or " for 
Ladies," as the case may be, and the name of the owner or 
owners of every machine, shall be painted conspicuously on the 
outside thereof, and that the number of every machine named 
in the license shall be painted on the out and inside of each 
door thereof ; and that the owner or owners of any machine 
using the same without being so named or numbered, shall be 



12 LLANDUDNO. 

subject and liable to the penalty or forfeiture of any sum not 
exceeding forty shillings. 

That every machine shall be properly and substantially built 
with fluted or chequered floors, so as to let off all standing 
water ; also, a hand-rope fixed thereto, not less than ten yards 
in length, with a cork at the end, and a signal flag at the top 
outside, for the use of bathers inside, to enable them to give 
notice to be drawn ashore, and provide for each bather two clean 
towels, not less than three feet by one foot nine inches ; also a 
looking-glass for each machine, and bathing gowns for ladies ; 
and shall be kept in all other respects in good condition and fit 
for the purposes of bathing, and shall Be approved of by the 
said Commissioners, or the person or persons who shall be 
appointed by them, for the purpose of inspecting such machine 
or machines, and that the owner of owners of every bathing 
machine using any machine without such hand-rope shall 
forfeit and pay for every such offence any sum not exceeding 
forty shillings. 

That a copy of the Bye-Laws shall at all times be fixed and 
fastened in some conspicuous part of the interior of each ma- 
chine, so that the same can be conveniently read by the person 
or persons bathing, under, the penalty of ten shillings, and that 
the owner or owners, person or persons attending any machine, 
shall not be entitled to demand, or receive any fare, unless such 
Bye-Laws shall be fixed or fastened in manner aforesaid. 

That if any owner or owners of, or any person or persons 
attending such machine, shall demand a higher fare than he. 
she, or they are hereby authorised to receive, he, she, or they, 
for such offence shall be subject to the penalty or forfeiture of 
ten shillings ; or shall use any indecent, abusive, or insulting 
language, or otherwise misbehave himself, herself, or themselves 
to any person about to hire, or who shall have hired any 
machine or machines, such owner or owners, person or persons 
so offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offence any sum 
not exceeding forty shillings. 

That if any person or persons, duly licensed, shall, in the 
judgment of the major part of the Commissioners assembled at 
any meeting, be deemed to have neglected, or refused, or failed 
in observing or complying with the Bye-Laws, Rules, Regular 
tions, and Orders, or either of them, or whose machine or 



LLANDUDNO. 13 

machines shall, in the judgment of the said commissioners, be 
defective in safety, state of repair, condition, furniture, or clean- 
liness, or in case any attendant or attendants shall conduct 
himself, herself, or themselves improperly, and contrary to these 
Bye-Laws, Rules, Regulations, and Orders, or either of them, 
such license or licenses shall be forfeited ; and it shall be lawful 
for the Commissioners to revoke the license or licenses, of such 
person or persons. 

That if the owner or owners, or attendant or attendants of 
any licensed bathing machine or bathing machines, shall, at any 
time or times, when such machine or machines shall be used 
for the purposes of bathing, neglect or refuse to place such 
machine or machines in a sufficient depth of water, so as to 
prevent the bather or bathers therefrom respectively indecently 
exposing his, her, or their person or persons, then, and in every 
such case, and for every such offence, the said owner or owners 
shall forfeit any sum not exceeding twenty shillings, save and 
except in such cases when the tide and weather shall prevent 
such machine or machines being so placed as aforesaid. 

FARES. 

For one person 6d., and 3d. each additional person per head. 
Forty minutes allowed. (This rule does not . prohibit machine 
proprietors from entering into contracts with any person during 
their license.) 

Any owner of machine allowing gentlemen to bathe in the. 
ladies' grounds, or ladies in the gentlemen's grounds, either 
together or separately, it shall be lawful for the Commissioners 
to revoke such owner's license. (The positions of the machines 
to be changed every Monday morning, so as to give each pro- 
prietor a fair chance at the end next the town. ) 

STANDS.— LLANDUDNO BAY. 

From a mark opposite the entrance of St. George's Crescent 
east to another mark placed opposite to the entrance of Clonmel- 
street, for ladies only. 

From a mark placed 150. yards east of Clonmel-street to a 
mark placed 150 yards eastward of Bay-street for gentlemen 
only. 



14 LLANDUDNO. 

CONWAY BAY. 

From a mark 100 yards from the south corner of Ty Draw 
field to another mark placed southward 150 yards, for ladies 
only. 

From a mark placed 150 yards southward of the ladies' 
bathing ground for a distance of 200 yards, for gentlemen only. 

That if any person shall at any time throw, put, or place any 
dirt, sand, stones, or rubbish, sea weeds, or any other matter or 
thing, upon any or either of the sands hereby appointed, or any 
part thereof, so as to hinder, prevent, or impede the free use of 
the bathing machines, or any or either of them so licensed to 
ply or stand for hire thereon, he or she shall for every such 
offence forfeit and pay any sum of money not exceeding forty 
shillings, nor less than ten shillings. 

That every person bathing in the sea without a bathing 
machine within the limits prescribed by these Bye-Laws, shall, 
for every such offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding 
forty shillings, nor less than ten shillings. 

That every proprietor of bathing machines shall provide and 
keep ready for use upon his stand two life-belts, with a coil of 
suitable rope for each, at least fifty yards in length, and that 
each machine shall be numbered conspicuously, and that the 
attendant on every bathing machine shall in any case of any 
property of bathers being left therein, immediately deliver the 
same to the policeman on duty ; and every person offending 
against this Bye-Law shall forfeit and pay for every such offence 
a sum not exceeding forty shillings. 

No bathing machine owner, or attendant upon a machine, 
shall refuse or neglect, without reasonable excuse, to allow any 
person to bathe out of his machine ; and any person offending 
against this Bye-Law shall forfeit and pay for every such offence 
a sum not exceeding forty shillings. 

That no owner or attendant of any pleasure boat shall ply or 
coast about within the space set apart for bathing purposes, and 
which shall be marked out by buoys ; and every person offend- 
ing against this Bye-Law shall forfeit and pay for every such 
offence a sum not exceeding forty shillings. 



LLANDUDNO. 15 

PLEASURE BOATS. 
Having considered the advantages and provisions of Llandudno 
for sea-bathing, the transition to a notice of its accommodations 
for the enjoyment of aquatic excursions seems easy and natural ; 
since at a marine residence opportunities for a pleasant sail are 
always required, nor will the visitor in this respect be disap- 
appointed. Several excellent boats, manned by steady and 
obliging sailors, are stationed on the beach for hire, and whether 
the object be fishing or pleasure, we know of no place which 
abounds with so many facilities and inducements. The sail 
round the majestic precipices of the Great Ormes Head reveals 
scenes of solemn sublimity ; the picturesque wildness of its 
inaccessible crags, where myriads of sea-birds make their 
unmolested nests, and the savage grandeur of its massive rocks, 
combining to form a succession of pictures which never fail to 
impress the mind with wonder and awe. While for those who 
are less venturesome, the boating within the bay is exceedingly 
pleasant, and developes a charming variety of marine and 
mountain prospects. The distance across the bay, between the 
two conspicuous headlands by which it is sheltered, is two 
miles ; and from the centre point of an imaginary line drawn 
across from rock to rock, the distance to the beach is about one 
mile. The voyage to Rhiwleden, or the Little Ormes Head, as 
it is more familiarly called, is most interesting and enjoyable ; the 
rocks are scattered at the base of the Head with most pictu- 
resque effects, and in their own individual peculiarities, as well as 
the singularity of their combinations, are marvellously beautiful. 
There are also curious caves which are well worth exploring ; with 
romantic hills, on which swarms of birds tempt the sportsman ; 
and quiet nooks, whose waters teem with fish, where anglers 
may successfully pursue the " gentle craft " which old Izaak 
Walton has so agreeably glorified. But in addition to these 



16 LLANDUDNO. 

smaller excursions, which find pleasant occupation for a few 
hours, or it may be a day's delight, there are available opportuni- 
ties for "going out to sea," not only by means of the Llandudno 
boats, but by steamers and sailing vessels, which call at appointed 
times, or " look in " occasionally for the accommodation of 
visitors ; and thus voyages may be cheaply and conveniently 
made to Conway, Beaumaris, Bangor, Carnarvon, or other 
places of interest within easy reach. The favourable position of 
Llandudno for a yachting station has not escaped observation, 
and there is no doubt that, at no very distant day, it will be a 
place of popular resort with the promoters of that truly British 
recreation for gentlemen. Of the necessity for making every 
order and enactment, which can give confidence to the public 
in a matter requiring so much care and forethought as the 
management of boats, the Commissioners . have not been un- 
mindful; and they have accordingly issued a series of strin- 
gent rules, defining the duties and limiting the charges of the 
mariners, with whose obligations it is desirable that visitors 
should become acquainted. We therefore insert for their infor- 
mation, 

EXTRACTS FROM THE BYE-LAWS 

FOR THE REGULATIONS OF PLEASURE BOATS. 

That licences be granted to authorise any number of pleasure 
boats to ply for hire on the beach and sands in front of the said 
town, and that yearly licenses be granted and that every license 
shall contain the number of the boat, and the owner shall, if 
required by any Justice of the Peace before whom any complaint 
shall be made, produce and show such license unto such Justice. 

That a register be kept of competent persons for the purpose 
of managing such pleasure boats, the competency of the parties to 
be approved of by the Commissioners, or by a person appointed 
bv them. 



LLANDUDNO. 17 

That no license be granted unless the person applying for the 
same is bond fide owner of the boat ; nor unless such owner 
shall at the same time bind himself to employ two of such 
persons as may be registered to attend and sail such boat, if the 
same shall be of the length of thirty-four feet or under ; and if 
exceeding the length of thirty-four feet, that no license shall be 
granted unless the owner shall employ three of such persons to 
attend and sail such boat ; nor unless such boat intended to be 
used under such license shall, if a boat used with sails, be of 
the length of eighteen feet or upwards, and if a row boat of the 
length of fourteen feet or upwards, and shall, in all respects, 
be approved of by the said Commissioners, before the licensing 
day ; and in default of either of these conditions, the party 
shall forfeit a sum not exceeding two pounds, in addition to the 
forfeiture of his or her license. 

That each and every licensed boat shall, at every time upon 
going to and when at sea, carry one or more life buoys, and in 
default thereof shall, for each and every offence, forfeit and pay 
any sum not exceeding forty shillings, and the owner or owners 
of each and every such boat or boats shall also, in addition, for- 
feit his, her, or their license or licenses. 

That each licensed boat shall not at any time cany to sea 
more persons than numbered in the licenses belonging to such 
boat, under the j)enalty of forfeiting for every such offence the 
sum of forty shillings, and that the number of persons to be 
allowed to be carried by each such boat shall be written in white 
paint upon a black ground, in some conspicuous part of each 
boat, in the words following : — " Licensed to carry — persons;" 
and in case of a refusal or non-compliance with this last restric- 
tion, each and every owner of such boat or boats shall forfeit 
the sum of forty shillings. 

That the number of each boat, with the name of the owner, 
shall be painted on some conspicuous part of the interior of the 
boat ; and the owner of every boat which shall be plying for 
hire on the beach or sands in front of the said town, without 
such number and name being so fixed and plainly visible in 
such boat, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence any 
sum not exceeding forty shillings, nor less than ten shillings. 

That if any boat so licensed shall be permitted to go to sea 
without her registered watermen or sailors on board, or if they 



18 LLANDUDNO. 

shall prove by their or his misconduct incompetent to manage 
the same, the owner thereof shall forfeit and pay for every such 
offence any sum not exceeding forty shillings, nor less than ten 
shillings. 

That the owner of every boat, and the watermen or sailors so 
employed therein, shall, whilst employed or plying for hire, have 
a medal, with the number of the boat for which they ply, and 
the words " Llandudno Pleasure Boat " conspicuously attached 
outside of their clothes, on the chest ; and if any such owner, 
sailor, or waterman shall ply for hire or go to sea without having 
such medal so affixed, every person so offending shall for every 
such offence forfeit and pay any sum not exceeding forty shillings, 
nor less than ten shillings. 

That if the owner or registered watermen or sailors of any 
licensed boat, or either of them, or any other person or persons 
whomsoever, shall at any time or times, ply or solicit for hire of 
any licensed boat, or land their fares in any other place than 
the stations or places fixed by order of the Commissioners, viz., 
on the beach, from the north side of the corner of the St. 
George's Hotel, towards Great Ormes Head ; and on the Conway 
shore, from the south corner of Tydraw field seaward (except 
such boat shall be driven by stress of weather,) or shall bring 
any such boat within 200 yards seaward of the water's edge 
appropriated to the bathing machines, or if any person or 
persons shall wear a medal in manner aforesaid, not being the 
actual registered owner or registered watermen or waterman, 
sailors or sailor of any licensed boat, then and in either of the 
said cases, every such person so offending shall forfeit and pay 
any sum not exceeding forty shillings, nor less than ten shillings. 

FARES FOR BOATS, 

USED WITH SAILS OH OAKS, THE TIME TO BE COMPUTED FKOM THE 
TIME OF SAILING TILL LANDING. 

S. D. 

For a whole boat for any time not exceeding one hour . . 2 

And for the first half-hour afterwards 1 

The second half-hour afterwards 1 

And for every half-hour after the second 9 

Any boat or boats plying at stated hours daily for pleasure 

to charge each passenger, per hour 6 



LLANDUDNO. 19 

That when the owner of any boat, or any person on his behalf, 
shall agree beforehand with any person for any fare at a less 
sum than the rate hereby allowed, such owner or person shall 
not demand or receive more than the sum agreed for, on a 
penalty of ten shillings. 

That copies of the bye-laws shall be printed and delivered to 
each person who shall be licensed ; and the owner, waterman, 
or sailor, attending to each boat shall, on demand being made 
by any person having engaged a fare, produce and show the 
same, on penalty of ten shillings ; and the owner or persons 
attending any boat shall not be entitled to demand or receive 
any fare, having so refused or neglected as aforesaid. 

That if any owner, sailor, or waterman attending any boat 
shall demand a higher fare than he is hereby entitled to do, he 
shall forfeit ten shillings ; or if any such owner, waterman, or 
sailor, shall wrongfully, or in a forcible and clandestine manner, 
take away the fare from any boat which shall appear entitled to 
such fare, or shall attempt to do so, or shall refuse to permit 
any person to take the number of his boat, or shall refuse to 
give his name or number, if required, or shall give a wrong- 
number or name, or shall insult, assault or oppose any peace- 
officer, or officer of the said Commissioners in discharge of his 
duty, or shall use any abusive, indecent, or insulting language, 
or otherwise misbehave himself to any person hiring or having 
hired such boat, or shall appear to be under the influence of 
intoxicating liquors, or in a drunken state, or shall remain out 
at sea contrary to the wish and direction of the passengers, 
unless unavoidably kept out by the weather ; each person so 
offending shall forfeit and pay for every such offence any sum 
not exceeding forty shillings, nor less than ten shillings. Parties 
engaging a boat, and afterwards not going out, must give an 
hour's notice of their intentions not to go out, or must pay for 
one hour. 

That if any person duly licensed shall, in the judgment of 
the major part of the Commissioners assembled at any meeting, 
be deemed to have neglected or refused, or failed in observing or 
complying with the bye-laws, or whose boat or attendants thereon 
shall, in the judgment of the said Commissioners, be defective 
either in respect to safety, state of repair, condition, cleanliness, 
or want of skill, such license shall be forfeited, and it shall be 



20 LLANDUDNO. 

lawful for the said Commissioners to revoke the license of such 
person. 

That if any owner, sailor, or boatman shall refuse or decline 
to take a fare when called on, unless he be at the same time 
engaged, or unless the weather is too tempestuous and it is 
dangerous to go to sea, or other unavoidable causes, he shall 
forfeit a sum not exceeding ten shillings. 




THE TOWN. 

fr7j| Y referring to the plan of the town, as laid out by 
Messrs. Wehnert and Ashdown, it will be seen that 
the arrangements admit of ample space and facilities 
for consulting all the modern requirements of architectural taste, 
public convenience, and sanatory regulations ; and many of the 
streets and buildings already occupied, indicate an intention of 
making Llandudno an attractive place of residence. Its climate 
in different situations is of so varied a character, that every con- 
stitution may there find a " local habitation" suited to its 
desires, amidst the bracing air of its hills and shores, the softer 
atmosphere of its sheltered nooks, or the gentle breezes of its 
valleys. Along the Marine Parade, there are several terraces of 
lodging-houses which command remarkably fine views of the 
sea, and are duly prepared for the reception of visitors. At the 
south-east end of St. George's Terrace is the Queen's Hotel, a 
commodious, handsomely-furnished, and well-conducted esta- 
blishment, under the management of Miss Hersee, the proprie- 
tress, it contains six good sitting-rooms facing the sea, and two 
others commanding bay and mountain views; eighteen airy, 
light, and lofty bed-rooms for visitors ; a spacious coffee-room, 
over which is a large drawing-room of similar dimensions ; com- 




QUEEN'S HOTEL LLANDUDNO. 




CLIEE WALK LLANDUDNO. 
TubjishfiiL Tjy CacheralLScTrichaxa, Chester 



LLANDUDNO. 21 

fortable sitting and sleeping-rooms for the servants of visitors ; 
hot, cold, and shower baths ; with all requisite accommodations, 
including coach-houses and stables. 

At the other end of the same terrace stands the St. Geokge's 
Hotel, another public establishment of handsome architectural 
exterior, and most comfortable internal arrangements, which 
contains about eighteen convenient bed-rooms, eight sitting- 
rooms, a coffee-room, with a billiard-room, and baths ; stables 
and coach-houses. The manner in which the hotel is con- 
ducted has obtained for its proprietor, Mr. Davies, considerable 
popularity. 

Among the new lodging-houses which adorn the margin of 
the Bay, those of Gloddaeth Crescent, on the Parade, beyond 
the Queen's Hotel, in the direction of the Little Ormes Head, 
may fairly command especial notice ; not for the purpose of 
invidious distinction, but as an illustration of the manner in 
which the town is progressing. This terrace, when completed, 
will include sixteen houses, built after designs by Mr. Chatwin 
of Birmingham, in the Italian style of architecture, for Mr. 
Gwyther and Mr. Warden, of that town ; which seems, indeed, 
to have supplied many of the most enterprizing improvers of 
Llandudno. The Crescent is beautifully situated ; each house 
will be replete with every accommodation required by the most 
fastidious in a well-arranged marine residence ; and in front of 
the entire range, there will be a private esplanade which will 
be turfed and laid out in ornamental parterres, with a broad 
gravel walk in the centre for a promenade. Cottages and stables 
for the use of occupants, will also be erected at the back of the 
dwellings. 

Walking along the beach towards the Great Ormes Head, 
you pass a number of very convenient, and, as we learn from 
reliable information, very comfortable houses, where lodgings 



22 



LLANDUDNO. 



may be obtained. The vicinity of Osborne House is always 
in great request ; while a little further on, Belmont Villas and 
Ty-Gwyn, as we know from experience, supply most desirable 
apartments for such as wish to combine with a fine marine 
prospect a snugly sheltered and warmer situation. Indeed so 
completely protected from the tempestuous north-west winds are 
all the houses which nestle along the foot of the mountain, that 
Llandudno possesses advantages for even a winter residence 
which but few watering-places enjoy. 

A little beyond Ty-Gwyn are the newly-erected Public Baths, 
a commodious and handsome edifice, standing upon a bold ledge 
of rocks overhanging the bay. It contains a most complete 
bathing establishment, with excellent private baths for ladies 
and gentlemen, approached by separate staircases, branching off 
right and left from the entrance hall. Passing through the hall 
you enter the assembly-room, which occupies the entire front of 
the building, and opens upon a spacious balcony, commanding 
most extensive and picturesque sea views. To the right of the 
entrance hall are separate cloak and coat rooms for ladies and 
gentlemen. To the left of the entrance hall is a library, and 
beyond that, in the left wing, there is a billiard room. There 
are sleeping rooms for the managers in the upper story facing 
the road. The original design which has not yet been com- 
pleted, includes two towers with staircases communicating with 
ornamental grounds, which are to extend to a considerable 
distance along the shore, and to belvederes above, from which 
remarkably fine and diversified views of the adjacent country 
and the ocean may be obtained to advantage. There is kitchen 
accommodation in the story below. The baths are furnished 
with a steam-engine and two sets of pumps to raise the sea water 
from an extensive reservoir, which is filled at every tide ; and it 
is in contemplation to form also a spacious plunging bath. The 







&10DDAETH ORESCENT - II AUB VD S 0. 




LLABBTTDN BAT: 



LLANDUDNO. 23 

design for this establishment was supplied by Messrs. Wehnert 
and Ashdown, under whose superintendence it was built by Mr. 
Carter ; and it will naturally be regarded both by strangers and 
residents as one of Llandudno's most important local institu- 
tions, for bathing is now considered by the intelligent to be as 
contributory to the preservation as the recovery of health and 
vigour. Beyond the Baths a new path, six feet wide, has been 
made, leading past the stone quarry round the head of the pro- 
montory, by a gradual ascent to St. Tudno's Church on the 
mountain — a more beautiful marine promenade it would be 
difficult to imagine. 

Leaving the Baths for awhile, we proceed along the Church 
Walks, at the lower end of which (near the sea) there are 
several respectable shops and places of business, as well as a 
number of houses on each side of the street, where lodgings can 
be obtained. A little further on is the Mostyn Arms Hotel, very 
pleasantly situated, as it commands good prospects of both bays 
and the intervening landscape. The proprietress of this esta- 
blishment is Mrs. McLellan, who is very attentive to the wants 
of her guests, for whom she can supply accommodation in twenty 
bed-rooms, six sitting-rooms, and a corlee-room. The walk 
from the Mostyn Arms Hotel towards the Conway Bay is 
exceedingly pleasant and picturesque, having on the western 
side a number of detached villas, delightfully situated in gardens 
on the gentle slopes of the hill. Warwick House, PendyrTryn, 
Bryntirion, and other residences in this locality, are usually in 
much demand during the season. 

St. George's Church stands in this vicinity ; its archi- 
tecture, which is of no great pretension, is after the Early 
English style, and though a simple example of a village Church 
has the distinctive characteristics of an ecclesiastical edifice. 
It has a nave with a transept, and a small chancel of one bay ; 



24 LLANDUDNO. 

the porch at the west end, which is the only entrance for the 
congregation, is surmounted by a tower. The church is built of 
the grey stone of the adjacent rocks, and thus harmonizes most 
agreeably with the aspect of the mountain, which forms a bold 
background to the picture. The old Parish Church, on the 
summit of the Ormes Head, (of which more hereafter), having 
fallen into decay, and being most inconveniently situated for the 
attendance of the inhabitants who had gathered on the lower 
ground at the foot of the hills, it was wisely resolved to build 
the structure now under notice ; and the history of its erection 
is thus recorded on a tablet at the west end of the nave : — 

" This Church was built in the year 1840, as a substitute for the 
Parish Church, which has fallen into decay, and contains four hundred 
and fifty sittings ; and, in consequence of a grant from the Incorporated 
Society for promoting the enlargement, building, and repairing of 
Churches and Chapels, three hundred of that number are hereby declared 
to be free and unappropriated for ever. 

"KOBEKT WILLIAMS, M.A., Minister. 
"JOHN WILLIAMS, 



Churchwardens.' 
WILLIAM OWEN, 

The architect of St. George's Church was Mr. John Welch, 
at that time resident in Conway, but he afterwards removed to 
Liverpool, where he died. The Church was consecrated by the 
Lord Bishop of Bangor on the 13th of August, 1840. The 
interior is neatly fitted up with seats, and there is a gallery at 
the west end containing an excellent organ by Mr. Hill of 
London. There are four lancet windows of one light each on 
either side of the nave ; there is a similar window in the east 
and west walls of the transept, the north and south windows of 
which have each three lights. Over the communion table, 
which is handsomely furnished, are well executed figures of St. 
Peter and St. Paul, surmounted by the sacred monogram I.H.S. 



LLANDUDNO. 25 

and on each side, beautifully painted in gold letters on a blue 
ground tastefully gilded, are tables of the Lord's Prayer, the 
Creed, and the Ten Commandments, in the Welsh language. 
Above this ornamental screen is a stained glass window of three 
lights, by Mr. Connor of London, containing representations of 
our blessed Saviour and the twelve Apostles ; and over the win- 
dow is a scroll bearing an inscription from St. Matthew xi. 28, 
in the Welsh language. Mr. Morrell of Llandudno was em- 
ployed to paint the Church, and his work has been most credit- 
ably performed. The pulpit is placed on the north, and the 
reading-desk on the south side of the chancel. On the south 
of the west door stands a handsome octagonal font, made of 
Talacre stone, by Mr. Thomas of Llanasa; it was the gift of 
Mr. McLellan of the Mostyn Arms Hotel, in the year 1855. 
On the wall of the south transept there is a neat monument 
beaiing the following inscription to the memory of Mr. Hughes, 
who was a proprietor of one of the copper mines on the 
mountain ; — 

Hamb to i\z gUmovii 

of 
of 

&att-g-Olraifj, JJaugor, mxh |Ugistrar of tjjts jliotesr, 

Mho bxpncttb tyia fife, October 30, 3t.§., 1849, 
AGED 58 YEARS. 
"I am tf)e Insurrection anO tfic Htfe: ije tijat oeltebetf) in ifte tfjoupj 
fje iocrc fleao" $ct sfjall ije llbe : ann tuijosoeber Ubctf) anU ocltebeti) in jiHe 
sjjall neber oie." 

John xi. 25, 26. 

The entire appearance of the Church and its fittings is remark- 
ably neat and in good taste ; its order and cleanliness are most 
commendable, and denote an earnest desire to maintain the 
sanctuary of the Lord's house in all reverence and honour. 
Under the spiritual charge of the late incumbent, the Rev. E. 



26 LLANDUDNO. 

T. Evans, M.A., every effort was originated to provide for the 
religious requirements of the parish, and they are effectively 
continued by his successor, the Rev. John Morgan, M.A. There 
are two English services and one in the Welsh language eveiy 
Sunday, and a lecture on Wednesday evening ; and during the 
summer season, when the place is thronged with visitors, there 
are likewise additional services in the National School. Praise- 
worthy attention is given to secure an effective and impressive 
celebration of Divine worship ; and the choral parts of the liturgy- 
are sung with a sweetness and fervour which might put to shame 
many a city congregation. The Church is usually crowded, 
mostly to inconvenience ; but the ecclesiastical officers of the 
parish make a point of shewing every courtesy to strangers, who 
are always sure of accommodation in the pews, which are freely 
surrendered to their occupation. It is in contemplation to build 
another church, which the extension of Llandudno certainly 
requires. 

The churchyard is neatly kept, as becometh the burial 
place of Christians ; there are no mounds over the graves, the 
verdant sods of which are laid level with the green turf of the 
enclosure ; but on the south side, near the church wall, is the 
more conspicuous tomb of Mr. Hughes, of Tan-y-Graig, to 
whose memory the mural tablet before noticed is placed within 
the Church, the inscription on both being similar, except in 
the scriptural portion of the epitaph, which, on the tomb-stone 
in the churchyard consists of Isaiah liv. 10 — admirably sugges- 
tive and appropriate amidst such scenery — " For the mountains 
shall depart and the hills be removed : but my kindness shall 
not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be 
removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee." The poet 
Young has well observed that 

"An undevout astronomer is mad:" 



LLANDUDNO. 27 

and surely, if ever the heart of man is susceptible of religious 
emotions it must be while engaged in devotional exercises on 
such a spot as this, where every object wears the visible impress 
of Jehovah's hand ; and nature, through all her varied scenes 
of wildness and beauty, utters a living comment upon the 
Psalmist's sublime declaration, " The voice of the Lord is 
mighty in operation." "You will generally," as an eloquent 
writer observes, " find our Welsh churchyards very lovely; and 
no unprofitable hour may be spent in them at eventide, when 
the long shadows are on the dewy grass, and the sun glitters in 
the lattice panes ; and you may lift up your eye to the hills, 
•with their clear and bright heads, that stand about our Jeru- 
salem, and see their far off sides speckled with the white cottage 
or picturesque farm, the shady copse or the little cascade ; or 
look down into the cool shady valleys, between whose forest 
ravines the little brook pours forth its music all day, and feel 
how, in Coleridge's noble words, 

' Earth, with her thousand voices, praises God ! ' 

And though the Church is sorely oppressed with the prevalence 
of schism — though her sons are but as the two little flocks 
of kids, while the Syrians fill the country — yet every day she is, 
I trust, lengthening her cords and strengthening her stakes." 
And if the reader would realize something of the feeling here 
described, pass, in the soothing tranquillity of a summer 
Sunday's eve, from the solemnizing services of Llandudno 
Church, through whose open doors 'the departing radiance of 
the setting sun may be seen shedding a luminous flood of glory 
over the gently undulating billows of the deep, while in the 
calm blue distance a sort of heavenly quiet rests upon the 
bosom of the mountains ; and walk forth amidst the secluded 
beauty of rural paths, green fields, and solemn shores. There 



28 LLANDUDNO. 

is a pensive softness in the hour favourable to meditation ; you 
may catch the spirit of the rejoicing earth, and hear the boom- 
ing waters of the sea 

" Boiling the deep, profound, eternal bass 
In nature's anthem;" 

and in the refreshing repose of a Sabbath serenity and a land- 
scape so fair, holy thoughts must steal over the senses with a 
soothing and salutary influence, and predispose the mind to the 
devout enjoyment of 

"An eve, 

Beautiful as the good man's peaceful end, 

When all of earthly view is passed away 

And heaven is in his face." 

A little beyond St. George's Church is an excellent educational 
establishment, consisting of commodious and substantial premi- 
ses for National and Infant Schools, under the superintendence 
of the Incumbent, who has secured the services of competent 
teachers in both departments, which are conducted with kind- 
ness and intelligence. The schools are well attended ; and the 
admirable system of moral and religious instruction adopted 
therein — a combination of Christian knowledge with common 
learning — cannot fail to produce the most beneficial effects 
among the classes of society for whose advantage such useful 
institutions are founded by the Church, and maintained by the 
voluntary contributions of the benevolent. The first school, for 
120 children, with a residence for a master, was erected in 1846, 
at a cost of £500. In 1$53 the managers resolved to appro- 
priate the building to the purposes of an Infant School, and to 
erect a new school, capable of accommodating 150 scholars. 
This good intention they succeeded in accomplishing at an 
expense of £700, and the schools thus enlarged came into 
effective operation during the summer of 1854. The average 



LLANDUDNO. 29 

attendance of children in the boys' and girls' schools is about 
100 ; and of infants about 80. A Committee of management 
meets on the last Saturday in every month, for the transaction 
of all business connected with the schools. And while referring 
to the provision which has been made in Llandudno for religious 
worship and instruction, we may take this opportunity of add- 
ing that the various denominations of Dissenters have not been 
negligent in this matter. The Welsh Calvinistic Methodists 
have a meeting-house in Gloddaeth-street ; the Baptists in 
Llewellyn-street ; and the Wesleyan Methodists near the moun- 
tain road above Church Walks. There is a Sunday School in 
connection with each of these places of worship ; and the Inde- 
pendents during the year 1857 erected a remarkably handsome 
meeting-house in St. Tudno-street. The Sunday is piously 
observed in Llandudno by all clases, who seem to regard it with 
one consent as a day of holy rest, ceasing from worldly cares 
and pleasures, and surrendering themselves to its sacred duties 
and influences. 

Resuming the course of our ramble, we follow the path 
beyond the National Schools towards the Conway Bay, and 
reach the newly-erected mansion at Plas Gogarth, built by the 
late incumbent for his own residence, and near which there are 
several other family residences, handsome in appearance and 
commodious in their arrangements. Returning from this 
picturesque locality by the lower roacl, we pass a range of pretty 
villas called Gloddaeth Terrace, in St. Tudno-street, at most of 
which visitors may obtain pleasant lodgings, as the houses are 
veiy agreeably situated, and command beautiful views of the 
grand headlands of Gloddaeth, the wood-crowned heights of Mael- 
gwyn, and the fine mountain and marine prospects by which 
the lovely panorama is skirted. Passing along to Llewellyn- 
street, the visitor will not fail to notice on the left the singular 



30 LLANDUDNO. 

effect produced by the tiers of houses which rise one above 
another on the side of the Great Ormes Head, and not a few of 
which serve to illustrate the primitive simplicity of the original 
habitations of Llandudno ; while a nearer approach will make 
him acquainted, at the foot of Mount Road, with some comfort- 
able dwellings, which but five years ago were the best houses 
there, and are now occupied by tradesmen of most respectable 
standing and recognized integrity, who have seen all the 
struggles of the old village in its progress to the importance of 
a popular watering-place. In this vicinity are also two road-side 
inns of homely celebrity, known by the royal titles of the " King's 
Head " and the " Victoria," where comfortable entertainment 
can be obtained, and the intelligent civility of whose hosts can 
beguile the time with local information and anecdotes. In 
Mostyn-street, which forms a wide approach to the town from 
the Conway road, and runs in nearly a parallel line with the 
Marine Parade, there are many good lodging-houses and most 
respectable business establishments. Opening from Mostyn- 
street into the main road leading to the Conway Bay, stands 
" Llandudno Market," a neat and useful building, which has 
supplied a want long felt by visitors. Its length is 102 feet 
its width 52 feet, and the height in the centre of the roof is 22 
feet ; it contains sixteen stalls, some of which, as they are very 
commodious, are divided into two ; under the stalls there are 
sixteen cellars or warehouses for stores, which are found most 
convenient for the purposes of tradesmen attending the market. 
The building was erected by Mr. T. D. Carter, after a design by 
Mr. Ashdown, the architect and surveyor to the estate. At the 
end of the market a spacious range of livery stables has been 
erected ; near to which is the stand for hiring ponies, donkeys, 
basket carriages, and other conveyances. The views from this 
street command extensive prospects of the majestic mountain 



LLANDUDNO. 31 

scenery in the neighbourhood of Penmaen-Mawr and the Menai 
Straits, with the intervening tract of flat country between the 
two bays in front, and the romantic precipices of Gogarth to the 
west. The " Prince of Wales" Packet-house is a convenient inn, 
adjoining one of the approaches from Mostyn-street to the 
Marine Parade. In addition to the streets here mentioned, 
other detached buildings and blocks of houses are rising up in 
various elegible situations. 




THE GKEAT OKMES HEAD. 

AVING thus given a sketch of the new town, we proceed 
to ascend the lofty and picturesque promontory to 
which Llandudno is indebted for its ancient celebrity, 
and which now constitutes one of its most interesting attractions. 
We commence our ascent, as the most convenient and easy 
route, from the lower end of Church Walks, just above Belmont 
House, and proceed by a sloping ledge on the hill side past the 
newly-built mansion of Mr. Keece, pausing as we go to enjoy the 
beautiful succession of views which the path discloses. A little 
higher up we come into the mountain road, and stay awhile to 
admire the glorious old rocks, which here lift their venerable 
cliffs in picturesque grandeur, and along whose beetling crags 
the green ivy clambers in clustering profusion, imparting a 
cheerful aspect of life and verdure to nature's sternest scenes of 
sterility. Pursue the winding road still further, and then turn 
round to gaze upon the magnificent panorama which stretches 



3^ LLANDUDNO. 

before you from the Little Ormes Head round to the green 
heights of Conway, and the cloud-capped summits of Snowdonia. 
A fine bird's-eye view of Llandudno spreads beneath ; while the 
bright blue waters of the sea on either hand — the hills of 
Gloddaeth — the conical rock of Maelgwyn, towering as it were 
in isolated prominence amidst the centre of the plain — the 
gables of Bodysgallen peeping through their " ancestral trees" 
— the majestic ruins and the famed bridges of Conway — with all 
the intervening varieties of huge headlands and verdant valleys, 
studded with " modest mansions" and rural cots, combine to 
form a prospect of wondrous beauty and extent, which, bounded 
on the one hand by the picturesquely undulating outlines of the 
mountains, and on the other by the wide sweep of " ocean's dim 
immensity," is worth a pilgrimage to contemplate. Every step 
developes new features. 

" Ever charming, ever new, 
When will the landscape tire the view ?" 

Turning to the left from the beaten road, you pass over the 
rugged waste of hills to the downs, and take the rising path 
which leads close by the Copper Mines, and at the distance 
of a mile from the town brings you to the Telegkaph Station, 
where the summit of the mountain is covered with mossy grass, 
and the velvet-like softness of nature's green carpet, adorned with 
heather and besprinkled with a profusion of wild flowers, invites 
to a pleasant rest, and a leisurely enjoyment of the wonderfully 
grand views which this elevated position commands ; the highest 
point of the promontory being 750 feet above the level of the sea. 
During the Continental wars there was a signal station on the 
Ormes Head, which is now happily occupied by an establishment 
for far other and pacific purposes. The semaphore system of 
communication now in use was the invention of Lieutenant 
Watson, and it is very interesting to inspect the nature of the 



LLANDUDNO. 33 

machinery, and the mode of working it. The Telegraph Station 
was built in the year 1840, by the Liverpool Dock Trustees, 
whose intelligent care for the commercial interests of the river 
Mersey, and for the facilities jof communication between the 
various marine stations on the neighbouring coasts, cannot be too 
highly commended. This telegraph occupies an important 
position for the transmission of signals between Holyhead and 
Liverpool, the line being marked by the following stations — from 
Holyhead to Cefndu — Point Lynas — Puffin Island — the Great 
Ormes Head — Lysfaen — Vorydd — Prestatyn — Hilbre Island — 
Bidston — Liverpool. The immediate points of communication 
with the Great Ormes Head are, therefore, Puffin Island on the 
one side, and Lysfaen on the other. On one occasion when we 
were on the Ormes Head (September 8, 1855, at noon) the 
following message was passed throughout the whole line in eight 
minutes : — 

86— Wind at Holyhead. 

49— W.S.W. 

91 — Moderate breeze. 

186 — Barometer steady. 

160 — Nothing more to report. 

161 — Nothing off Point Lynas. 

163— Nothing off Great Ormes Head. 
In the month of March, 1856, and on several occasions in 1857 
and 1858, we were also witness to equally rapid transmissions of 
intelligence, as well as to a temporary interruption of the 
correspondence by intervening mists. The keeper of the Station, 
Mr. Jones, is remarkably courteous and intelligent ; not only 
affording ready information to every inquirer, but kindly 
permitting visitors to watch his telegraphic operations, which at 
convenient opportunities he is always willing to explain ; and to 
take a peep through his powerful telescopes at the sublime 



34 LLANDUDNO. 

scenery of the district. A book is kept in which visitors are 
expected to enter their names and addresses. The solidity of the 
building — and it needs to be strong in such a situation — does 
not more readily attract the stranger's notice than the domestic 
comfort and cleanliness of his dwelling, which are most 
creditable to the industrious management of his wife and 
family, every one of whom is also skilled in the use of the 
telegraph. 

A sheltered nook on the side of the hill near the Station, is 
a favourite resort with pic-nic parties, combining, as it does, 
welcome facilities for the enjoyment of the glorious prospects, 
and of the exhilarating recreations usually characteristic of such 
festive occasions. And here it may be the proper place to 

observe, that for the accommodation of visitors, Mr. and Mrs. 

* 

Jones have set apart a comfortably furnished room, where tea is 
provided on the shortest notice, and a supply of good lemonade, 
soda water and other beverages of the temperance class is always 
to be had — refreshments which, during the summer months, are 
much in demand, and, therefore, these arrangements at " the 
Telegraph" are pretty generally appreciated. The Great Ormes 
Head is three miles in extent, " from water to water," (from 
east to west,) two miles across, and about seven miles round ; it 
juts into the sea in the form of a peninsula, being joined to the 
main land by only a narrow tract of level marsh, which causes it 
to assume the appearance of a rocky island when seen at a 
distance from the railway or the sea. Its frightful precipices 
and immense cavities are, for the most part, washed by deep 
water ; and from its peculiar position, it is said to have been in 
former days a chosen retreat for smugglers, in illustration of 
which Mr. Bennett, in his " Pedestrian Tour through North 
Wales," (1838,) recites the following tragic story : — 



LLANDUDNO. 35 



THE SMUGGLER. 



It was my fortune, or rather my misfortune, said my com- 
panion, some forty years ago, to take up my quarters at a 
fisherman's hut, in the village, who was a widower with one 
child, a lovely girl of about sixteen years of age. She performed 
all the household duties for her father with the greatest neatness 
and cheerfulness, and at evening was looked upon by the youth 
of the surrounding neighbourhood as the gayest and handsomest 
lass that tripped upon the hard sands to the music of a blind 
harper, who lived in the vicinity. Many a time, as I stood and 
saw her light feet moving in the inspiring dance, have I said to 
myself, it would be a pity now if so light a foot should ever carry 
a heavy heart. Poor Jane ! she was the sweetest wild flower of 
the cliff — nursed in the storm and tempest, yet in her simplicity- 
more winning to the heart and eye than the proudest exotic 
luxury could produce. I took a pleasing interest in her ; and, 
for the attention she paid me, resolved upon improving her 
education to the extent of my ability. I had frequent oppor- 
tunities of observing that she had a strong partiality for a youth 
who was possessed of personal and mental qualifications far 
beyond those of his associates, but who was wild, with the bump 
of marvellousness extremely prominent. After remaining with 
them nearly three months, during which I may give myself 
credit for having made good use of my time in improving the 
manners and intellect of my docile pupil, I took leave of the 
1 fisherman and his daughter, promising to pay them a visit in the 
course of a month, before I returned to merry England. Tears 
stood in the eyes of poor Jane as I turned to quit the cottage, and 
the old father squeezed my hand with a cordiality that effectually 
stopped the circulation of my blood in that extremity. Mark, 
her lover, seemed neither sorry nor pleased, but leaning his 
broad back against the white-washed wall of the cottage, whistled, 
with the greatest composure, " The jovial fellow's farewell." 
After a month's ramble, I returned to this spot on a dark, 
stormy day in October; it was indeed a dreary evening. The rain 



36 LLANDUDNO. 

fell in torrents, and the hoarse sound of the surge came heavily 
upon my ear as I approached the cottage of my late worthy host, 
when suddenly, as I lifted my eyes from the ground, I perceived 
a number of persons walking in slow procession, as from a 
funeral, and a cold shudder came over me as I recognized the 
father of Jane ; his white locks exposed to the beating rain, his 
head bent to the ground, and his hands clasped upon his breast, 
in the action of mental agony. Thinking my visit would prove 
ill-timed, I proceeded to a small public-house, and, while my 
garments were drying at the fire, I managed to extract from the 
landlord that the funeral of Jane Morgan had just taken place. 
Astonishment and sorrow chained my tongue for some time. 
I shall never forget the sensations I experienced at this mournful 
relation. I sat motionless in my chair, without uttering a 
syllable for a full hour, or noticing anything that transpired 
around me during that time. I could think of nothing but Jane 
Morgan ; 1 could see nothing but her young blooming face and 
yellow locks, which used to glitter like threads- of gold in the 
sunbeams, as the fresh sea breeze blew them into a thousand 
fantastic waves ; her airy form, as it flew along the sands on 
which her light foot scarcely left a print ; her simple dress — all 
this I brought to my " mind's eye ;" and afterwards the church- 
yard, where she was laid a corpse ; I burst into tears. Her 

lover, Mark Bratts, who had for more than a twelvemonth paid 
courtship to poor Jane, had obtained her father's consent to their 
union, whenever he could realize a sufficient sum to begin the 
world with in a prudent and respectable way. The precarious 
life of a fisherman, however, appeared to Mark to hold out little 
prospect of wealth enough either to gain or support a wife ; and 
he resolved upon obtaining the object of his wishes as speedily 
as possible in some other way. A man named Simpson, a 
notorious smuggler in the neighbourhood, was known to have 
amassed a considerable property, and Mark resolved to offer 
himself to serve as one of the crew on board his lugger, hoping 
that in a trip or two he might earn sufficient to claim his promised 
bride. He was accepted aboard ; and the day following the little 



LLANDUDNO. 



37 



vessel spread her light sails to the breeze, and took her course 
for Holland. Mark possessed a little money, which he laid out 
in a venture, trusting thereby to clear so much as would enable 
him to claim as his bride the object of his love. It was a stormy 
day when the inhabitants of Llandudno were roused by the re- 
port of guns from the seaward, the wind blowing furiously right 
on shore. It was about the time that the smuggler's vessel was 
expected, and those interested in her safe arrival hastily ran to 
this promontory to ascertain if she was in sight, or in danger, for 
a king's cutter was known to be cruising on the coast. It was 
just dawn ; the sea was running mountains high ; and within a 
league of the rocks they perceived two vessels within half a mile 
of each other. The first was a small lugger, carrying a press of 
canvass that seemed to ran her hull under as she made directly 
for the headland, and her masts bent like reeds to the fury of 
the tempest. As she approached the headland, a number of kegs, 
piled one upon another on the decks, were observed to vanish 
into the deep by dozens, being flung overboard by the busy crew. 
They were within a mile of the shore when the revenue cutter, 
hauling her wind, poured a broadside of grape shot into the 
smuggler, so well directed that several were seen to fall from 
their stations in various parts of the vessel. Still they carried 
every stitch of canvass, knowing that there was water enough for 
the light lugger to cross the bar after they had rounded the point, 
and that the revenue cutter would be sure to strike upon the 
sands if she attempted to follow them half a mile further, being 
of much heavier tonnage. Besides, she was already in some 
peril by venturing so far in shore, with a gale blowing heavily 
from the north-east. She was soon within hail of the Head, and 
the cliffs were covered with human beings, gazing eagerly upon 
the little craft beneath it, when suddenly a chain-shot from the 
cutter carried away her mainmast, which fell over the side. To 
cut away the stays and clear the wreck was the work of a minute, 
and the smuggler's bark swept like a sea-bird round the Great 
Ormes Head into the Bay of Conway, but not until their 
pursuers had sent another broadside into her hull as they stood 



38 LLANDUDNO. 

offshore. As the Typfwn, the name of the king's vessel, turned 
from the pursuit, the daring outlaws sent up a shout of triumph, 
which was echoed from those on the rocks, and after a slight 
shock, which the lugger received as she crossed the sand-bank, 
they floated safely in smooth water. 

But where was Jane ? Foremost of that crowd which gathered 
on the rocks, when the firing was first heard, flew the light 
form of the lovely maiden, like a young eagle glaring for its 
mate. She stood upon the extreme verge of the cliff, unconscious 
of every thing save the peril of her lover ; her eyes fixed upon 
the vessels, straining as though they would crack their strings, to 
discover the form of him who had her heart in keeping ; and, as 
the vessel glided under the headland, she hung over the brink of 
the precipice, gazing upon the dead and dying, with whom the 
decks were strewed. But she saw him not. With the swiftness 
of the seamew, she followed the course of the smuggler along the 
shore ; and when at last she saw the white sails gathered to the 
yards, and the vessel riding safely at anchor in the rocky bay, 
she leaped into a boat, and rowed herself to its side. A moment, 
and she jumped upon the deck, calling wildly for poor Mark. 
But no one answered her. With hair dishevelled, and* eyes 
glancing fire, she turned each dead man's face up to the sky. At 
length, a headless trunk met her distracted gaze. A bright gold 
ringlet of hair, tinged with smuggler's blood, and fastened to the 
breast of his shirt, the blue pea-jacket she gave Mark at his 
departure, and the brass buckles which her father wore and pre- 
sented to him as a pledge of future favour, all flashed conviction 
on her mind that it was the mutilated form of her lover. A wild 
scream, which struck terror into the hearts of the daring crew, 
proclaimed her heart was broken ; and, falling on his mangled 
corpse, she instantly expired. This was the melancholy end of 
the lovers. 

Happily, such adventures as these, owing to the altered 
character of the district and our improved marine regulations, 
have now become almost impossible ; but while the pathos of the 







S T TUBNOS CHTTRCH. ILAND 




APB STATION, LI AND TTDSO. 

Pubj^hed.'bv CadifiralL&ritichari.Cliesmr. 



LLANDUDNO. 6U 

story dwells in the mind, let us leave our mossy seat, and proceed 
down the green declivity to the little Chuech of St. Tudno, 
which stands before us near the verge of the sea-washed precipice 
— a monument at once of the faith of former times, and the 
benevolent piety of our own days. Tradition states that this, 
the ancient Parish Church of Llandudno, was founded by the 
venerable saint to whom it is dedicated. He was the son of 
king Seithenin of Maes Gwddno, whose territory on the coast of 
Cardiganshire was overflowed by the sea ; and whose sons 
adopted a religious life by becoming members of the College of 
Dunawd at Bangor Iscoed. They were all afterwards canonized ; 
the brothers of Tudno being Merin, Senevyr, Tudglyd, and 
Owynodl, the patron saint of Llangwynodl near Pwllheli. Tudno 
having thus forsaken the ambitious paths open to him as a 
prince in the court or the camp, for the more humble and 
obscure vocation of a parish priest, sought, in the seclusion and 
security of this lofty promontory, a spot where he might worship 
his God in peace, and minister in holy things to the peasantiy 
of the hills. The parish then consisted of houses far distant 
from each other, and scattered on the mountain's face, in spots 
difficult of access, and exposed to the vicissitudes of earth and 
sea, the landslip and the storm. Here, at the commencement 
of the seventh century, the devout recluse erected his baptistery 
and altar, after the primitive custom of those days ; when 
Churches were hard to raise, and persecution frequently drove 
the Christians of ancient Britain to seek a refuge among the 
mountain solitudes, " in dens and caves of the earth." After- 
wards, as was usually the case in those times of fervent faith, a 
Church was erected for the use of the pious who resorted to the 
hermitage of the saint ; and the present structure occupies the 
site of St. Tudno's oratory, although no traces of that early build- 
ing are discoverable. This Church was one of those which were 



4-0 LLANDUDNO. 

founded at a time when the Britons were not in communion 
with the Church of Rome, and before the practice of dedicating 
to saints, according to the usual mode, had become customary. 
From the testimony of Bede, it appears that the mode of 
consecration practised by the primitive Christians of this island 
was peculiar. Wherever a Church was intended to be erected, a 
person of reputed sanctity was chosen to reside on the spot, 
where he continued forty days in the performance of prayer, 
fasting, and other religious exercises ; at the expiration of that 
time the ground was held sacred, and a Church was erected 
accordingly. It would naturally follow that the Church should 
be called after the name of the person by whom the ground was 
consecrated, and in this sense the word " founder" most be 
understood. It remained for subsequent generations to regard 
the founder in the character of patron saint. Popular opinion 
seems to maintain that all Churches, which are named after 
Welshmen, were founded by them.* 

The original Church was doubtless replaced by a larger edifice 
about the eleventh or twelfth century ; for in an interesting contri- 
bution to the ArchcBologia Cambrensis for January, 1856, the Rev. 
H. Longueville Jones, who has devoted much time and ability to 
the antiquities of this district, says : — " There are evident 
remains of that date in the north wall, where courses of small 
stones alternate with courses of large ones, as is not uncommon 
in early work. This extends half way from the west towards the 
east end. A difference of work in the masonry there shews that 
the Church was doubled in length by the addition of a chancel, 
which is of the Perpendicular period. The building, therefore, 
as it now stands, shows marks of two distinct periods ; the 
former may have been of the eleventh or twelfth century, the 
latter including all the architectural features of the fifteenth 
* Professor Eees's Essay on the Welsh Saints. 

4 



LLANDUDNO. 41 

century." The latter was a period of much exertion in Church 
building throughout Wales ; and although there may be some 
difficulty in assigning precise dates to the various portions of the 
structure, clear indications of successive changes are sufficiently 
visible in the masonry to justify the conclusions of intelligent 
archaeologists. Ultimately the Church assumed an oblong form, 
having a gable-turret for one bell, a low arched entrance on the 
west, a porch on the north with an aperture for a single light, a 
three-lighted square window in the east, a similar one of two lights 
in the south-east, and a single round-headed window near the 
porch on the north. The interior measurement of this single- 
aisled edifice is 67 feet long by 16^ feet wide ; the separation of 
the chancel being originally marked by a carved screen with 
rood-loft, which must have been very elaborately worked, judging 
from the few fragments that have been preserved. The original 
timbering of the chancel roof was also ornamental. The princi- 
pals of the roof over the chancel were enriched and adorned with 
ecclesiastical symbols, together with a carved entablature which 
ran along the walls. There was a niche with a credence slab 
beside the east window. The other portions of principals and 
timbers of the roof were plain, rough-hewn with the hatchet, and 
pegged together with rude wooden pegs. Some traces of orna- 
mental red painting were discernible on the walls. In process 
of time, " as faith waxed old and generosity became feeble," the 
mountain Church was almost deserted, and suffered to fall into 
decay — a consequence probably of an inefficient provision for the 
spiritual services of the parish, as the writer of a k ' Ramble at 
Llandudno," published in 1849, says — " Of old time Divine 
worship (on the Ormes Head) was performed only in the 
afternoon by the clergyman from Conway, who, with his clerk, 
had to travel from one place to the other, a distance there and 
back of ten miles ; and often in the winter months they were 
themselves the only attendants." 



4^ LLANDUDNO. 

In the month of January, 1839. a tremendous storm broke 
on the mountain, swept off the roof of the Church, and so 
much damaged the building that no effectual attempt to repair 
the ravages of the weather was made ; and the greater part of 
the population being located on the isthmus connecting the hill 
with the main land, it was determined to erect a new church 
there in a favourable situation. St. George's Church, as we 
have seen, was accordingly built; St. Tudno's was deserted, 
except as a parochial burial place, and left exposed to the 
depredations of man and the violence of natural agencies. 
"The mountain of the Lord's house" was forsaken, and the 
holy place where their fathers had worshipped was " laid waste." 
In this state of dreary desolation, the melancholy sight of the 
roofless sanctuary long excited the sorrow and the indignation of 
the sojourner, as he contemplated it from the sea, to the 
mariners of which it had for ages served as a welcome beacon — 
or rambled by its neglected walls, around which 

" The rude forefathers of the hamlet sleep" 

till the morning of the resurrection — or stepped his way, amidst 
broken stones and accumulating rubbish, within its hallowed 
precincts. Attempts were made through the public Press to 
rouse or shame the proper authorities to a sense of duty, and 
renewed appeals appeared in the Archceologia Cambrensis, the 
Chester Courant, and other publications, to induce some active 
effort for putting the Parish Church and its adjoining Cemetery 
into a becoming state of decency and order. The ecclesiastical 
authorities, the landed proprietors and others most interested, 
however, " made no sign ;" and at length a few zealous mem- 
bers of the Cambrian Archaeological Association visited the 
place, and commenced a subscription, which was thus an- 
nounced in 1854 : — 



LLANDUDNO. 43 

The ancient church of Llandudno, an interesting relic of the 
fifteenth century, has for some years been lying in a greatly 
dilapidated condition. It is situated on the higher portion of 
Great Ormes Head, exposed to the violence of all the storms 
from the ocean, and is now nearly stripped of its roof, being 
entirely unfit for Divine worship. The sum of £100 will suffice 
for putting it into a state sufficient for the requirements of a 
mortuary and occasional Chapel ; and it is hoped, that amongst 
those who have visited and become acquainted with this re- 
markable spot, subscriptions to this amount may be raised. 
Donations for this purpose will be thankfully received by any of 
the following gentlemen : — Rev. Edward T. Evans, Perpetual 
Curate of Llandudno ; J. Williams, Esq., Bodafon, Llandudno; 
Rev. H. Longueville Jones, Her Majesty's Inspector of Schools, 
Privy Council Office. 

SUBSCEIPTIONS ALREADY RECEIVED. 

The Bishop of St. Asaph £2 

T. Love D. Jones Parry, Esq., Madryn 1 

Kev. John Parkin, Llanyblodwel 10 

Rev. Robert Williams, Rhydycroesau 1 

R. Kyrke Penson, Esq., Oswestry 1 

Rev. H. Longueville Jones 1 

The then Incumbent, the Rev. E. T. Evans, warmly promoted 
this good work, which, though progressing slowly, would pro- 
bably have raised a sufficient sum to remove the reproach which 
had long attached to Llandudno in this particular, when Mr. 
W. H. Reece of Birmingham, moved with gratitude to God for 
the recovery of his only daughter's health in this salubrious 
place, gratefully resolved to restore the Church at his sole cost, 
as a thank-offering for Divine goodness. But before noticing 
the accomplishment of this pious resolution, it may not be 
uninteresting to gather into our narrative a few of the notices 
that appeared upon this subject in the Archaologia Cambrensis, 
as they serve to show, not only the feeling which existed 
respecting the then state of the Church, but the lively interest 
which Llandudno has been gradually exciting in the minds of 
intelligent tourists : — 



44 LLANDUDNO. 

Chester, Uh November, 1845. 

Me. Editok, — In the sixth number of the Archceological 
Journal, I find, at. p. 210, the following passage : — 

" Mr. Charles W. Goodwin, Fellow of Catharine Hall, Cam- 
bridge, communicated sketches of two coffin slabs, ornamented 
with highly decorated crosses flory, which were disinterred, a few 
years since, from beneath the flooring of the church of Llandudno, 
on the promontory of Ormshead, near Conwy. They are formed 
of blue stone, apparently a kind of slate ; and the foliated orna- 
ments, which cover the entire surface, are carved in low relief. 
The dimensions of the larger slab are six feet by two feet at the 
head, and one foot six inches at the foot. The other slab mea- 
sures five feet six inches by one foot eight inches at the head, 
and one foot at the foot. Mr. Goodwin stated that, as far as he 
could ascertain, no coffins were found with them ; and that he 
was inclined to suppose they had been brought from Gogarth, 
where the Bishops of Bangor had a palace, a few miles distant 
from Ormshead. At the time when the slabs were found, the 
church of Llandudno was dismantled ; and a fine screen, 
which, according to tradition, has been brought from Gogarth, 
was, as well as the carved roof of the chancel, carried away to 
serve as fuel." 

I merely point out this passage to your notice, in order that 
I may ascertain, through your means, where these tombstones 
or coffin-lids have been carried to. I can hear no tidings of 
them at Conwy. Have they been broken up for road-stuff, like 
the screen and roof for fuel ? — Your obedient Servant, 

An Antiquary. 

[Our correspondent may well ask this question ; but for an 
answer, we fear he must only look to the winds that howl 
around the bleak promontory on which the abandoned church 
of Llandudno still stands. We have never heard of them our- 
selves, although we frequently visit Conwy. Possibly, one of 
our correspondents, who is now engaged in an architectural 
survey of Caernarvonshire, may succeed in obtaining some 
intelligence concerning them, if, indeed, (which we fear is not 
improbable,) they have not been broken up for the road or 
railway. Such vandalism would by no means surprise us in the 
latitude of Conwy. While upon this subject, we may observe. 
that it is indeed a melancholy sight to see the church of Llan- 
dudno, one of the oldest cells in Wales, nearly all unroofed, and 



LLANDUDNO. 45 

abandoned to the winds and the rains. Admitting that it was 
necessary to build a new church at the foot of the promontory, 
for the use of the small town now growing upon the flat land, 
yet the least that could have been done would have been to see 
that the ancient building was not suffered to go to decay. A 
memorial, such as this simple building, of the rude but endu- 
ring piety which led St. Tudno to that stormy solitude, is one of 
the monuments of the ancient British Church, — valueless, 
perhaps, in itself, for any architectural beauties, but of no small 
importance as a proof and tangible illustration of early ecclesi- 
astical history. How is it possible that this act of desecration 
on the part of the parochial authorities can have been over- 
looked by their ecclesiastical superiors ? 

Mr. Goodwin is in error when he styles Gogarth as "a few 
miles distant from Ormeshead." It is the narrow slip of cul- 
tivable land on the south western side of the promontory, upon 
which are still some remains of the building supposed to have 
formed a residence for the Bishop of Bangor. — Ed. of Aech, 
Cambeensis.] 



To the Editors of the Archceologia Cambrensis.. 

Gentlemen, — I am glad to be able to answer the question of 
" An Antiquary," (No. I, p. 83,) respecting the coffin slabs, in 
the old church at Llandudno. When I visited the venerable 
spot in April, 1843, I found them inside, resting against the 
wall, with no further damage than that they were broken across 
into three or four parts. I spent the whole morning in restoring 
them to their original position, which, with the assistance of an 
embryo antiquary of fourteen, I was able to accomplish success- 
fully ; and I trust that they will be permitted to remain so 
without being disturbed. It seems that they were taken up 
when the churchwardens removed the communion table and 
rails, under the flooring of which they lay, to the school-room 
at the bottom of the hill, which was fitted up for divine service 
during the building of the new church. 

I should wish that one of your architectural correspondents 
would carefully examine the ruins of Gogarth, the history of 
which is completely buried in the deepest obscurity. Though 
said to have been a palace of the Bishops of Bangor, I am 
inclined to suppose that an extensive establishment once existed 
there, as a large church may be traced, the walls of which still 



46 LLANDUDNO. 

remain to the height of several feet on the north side. Immedi- 
ately helow Gogarth was the extensive plain which formed the 
territory of Helig ab Glanawg, extending as far as Bangor, and 
which was overwhelmed by the sea in the sixth century. 
I am, yours obediently. 
March 10, 1846. Ll. C. 

[This is a valuable piece of intelligence, for which we are 
much obliged to our unknown correspondent. The author of 
Mona Medimva hopes to visit Llandudno, next June, and to 
make a requisite survey of the remains both there and at 
Gogarth ; but will be glad to enter into previous communication 
with Ll. C. on the subject, or to accompany him thither. We 
call the attention of the Archdeacon and of the Rural Dean of the 
district to the state of the tombs. Those functionaries are bound 
to see that proper care is taken of the time-hallowed ruin, and 
of the tombs in question. The church is now nearly unroofed, 
and we believe totally neglected — thereby constituting a strong 
reproof against the vigilance of the proper authorities. What 
though a new building has been erected in another place to suit 
a new purpose, is the ancient edifice therefore to be destroyed ? 
The same reason may serve a future generation for the unroof- 
ing and desecration of Bangor cathedral, when it once ceases to 
be the special see of a Bishop. — Ed. Arch. Camb. 



Abandonment of Llandudno Church, Caernarvonshire. — 
This building continues in the same neglected state, or rather is 
receiving fresh injury every day from the weather. The roof is 
now half gone, and in a short time the remainder will doubtless 
fall in. No real friend of the Church of England, who sails 
under Ormes Head, can avoid blushing at the conduct of the 
parochial and ecclesiastical authorities in allowing this state of 
things to continue. When parish churches are suffered to fall 
into ruin, cathedrals may begin to tremble. There is a new 
church built, it may be said, in another part of the parish, more 
convenient ; very true, and perhaps a site may be found more 
convenient for an episcopal see than Bangor ; if so, is Bangor 
Cathedral to be demolished as useless ? — October, 1846. 



Such are a few examples of the energetic appeals which 
were made to excite public attention to the condition of the old 



LLANDUDNO. 4 < 

church ; but, as we have already observed, no helping hand was 
effectually put to the work till Mr. Reece generously undertook 
it, and engaged Mr. F. W. Fiddian of Birmingham as the 
architect to carry out his wishes. Accordingly, on St. Tudno's 
Day (Gwyl MabsantJ, the 5th of June, 1855, the work of 
reparation and restoration was commenced. The architect 
proceeded, by Mr. Reece's instructions, to search for and replace 
such parts of the sacred structure as had been carried away by 
the peasantry. The ancient circular font (of a very early date) 
which had been removed, and at the time it was found was 
serving the purpose of a pump trough ; one of the emblems of 
the chancel roof, representing the five wounds of the Saviour ; 
fragments broken from stone coffin lids ; and portions of 
carved wood-work, were recovered, cleaned, repaired, and re- 
stored. The church was entirely re-roofed and repaired ; the 
old square window at the east end replaced by one of stained 
glass in the Decorated style, which prevailed throughout Wales 
in the fifteenth century ; a second window added on the south 
side ; theiuterior furnished with open seats for the congregation, 
pulpit, reading desk, communion rails and table, with painted 
tablets of the Lords Prayer, Creed, and Ten Commandments, 
in the Welsh language. In short, the little church has been 
made decent and appropriate for Divine worship ; and in all its 
essential architectural features (with the exceptions we have 
named) it remains unaltered. Nor must we omit to mention 
that the ancient coffin slabs have been put into good condition, 
and are placed at the east end of the church, in the north and 
south walls. Of these notable relics, Mr. Longueville Jones, in 
the article before quoted, .says : — "There are two incised slabs 
or coffin-lids which appear to be not more recent than the 
thirteenth century. They possess such an elegance of design 
as to show that they belonged to persons of at least noble birth. 



48 LLANDUDNO. 

On each of them, below the head of the cross, will be observed 
a buckle or brooch, on either side of the stem. We do not 
know what inference is to be drawn from their occurrence, but 
it should be remarked that, in each case, the workmanship of 
that on the dexter side is more elaborate than on that of the 
sinister ; while, from their being identical in design and posi- 
tion, it may be supposed that the slabs were carved by the same 
artist. They have been much injured and broken, but are now 
preserved from further damage, and are placed vertically in the 
walls of the chancel, because the masonry was too weak to allow 
of niches or recesses being cut for them to lie in a horizontal 
position." Within a recess in the centre of the north wall of 
the church is inserted a marble tablet, bearing in tastefully 
coloured letters under an encircled cross, a tri-lingual inscrip- 
tion in English, Welsh, and Latin, to the following effect : — 

A.D. MDCCCLV. 

W$& ancient Clrarclj of JSi. Cubno, foljiclj Ijao been mang govs 

ire a ruinous coubitiau, fares restored in Ijouanr of gJmigljlg 6ob, 

auo as a taken af aratitttbe far tije recooerg of jjis oulg bauajjter 

at tins plate, bg TOIiam fenrg $leece, $sq., at jjis ofrjn sole za&L 

" $lorg to #oo i« tlje jjigfeesi ; on eartlj peace, oaoo foil! to men." 

The names of Edward Thomas Evans, Incumbent, John 
Williams and James Williams, Churchwardens, and F. W T . 
Fiddian, architect, are also added. This memorial of the 
munificent piety of the benefactor was erected out of the small 
funds raised by subscription for the Church, in answer to an 
appeal of the Cambrian archaeologists. It is the only portion of 
the work not paid for by Mr. Reece, to whom all the praise 
belongs. The restoration is a good example of the architect's 
taste and judgment ; and the work has been creditably executed 
bv the contractor, Mr. Hughes, of Llandudno. On the feast of 



LLANDUDNO. 49 

St. Luke, Oct. 18, 1855, the little Church, thus restored and 
beautified, was formally transferred to the charge of the Incum- 
bent and the Churchwardens. It was a day of rejoicing to be had 
in remembrance by the inhabitants, and especially by such as 
dwell upon the mountain ; it was therefore marked by appro- 
priate religious observances and a social festival. There was a 
numerous attendance of the Clergy and Laity, who entered into 
the proceedings of the celebration with cordial feelings of 
Christian fellowship. About ten o'clock the Clergy formed in 
procession at the Church-yard gate, and, preceded by the 
Churchwardens, and choirs of Llandudno, Conway, andLlanrwst, 
chaunting Te Deum as they went, advanced to the porch, where 
they were met by Mr. Fiddian, who, on behalf of Mr. Keece, 
presented to the Churchwardens the keys of the Church ; which 
was immediately crowded by a devout congregation. The order 
for morning prayer was then proceeded with, the officiating 
ministers being the Rev. E. T. Evans, Incumbent of Llandudno, 
and the Rev. John Morgan, of Llanrhaiadr. The sermon was 
preached by the Rev. J. V. Vincent, M.A., Rural Dean, from 
Ezekiel xxxvi. 36 — " Then the heathen that are left round about 
you shall know that I, the Lord, build the ruined places, and 
plant that that was desolate : I, the Lord, have spoken it, and 
will do it." The discourse was earnest, practical, and suitable 
to the occasion ; and with reference to the peculiar event of the 
day, the Reverend preacher observed : — 

" There is no more correctly indicative criterion, under 
ordinary circumstances, of the state of religion in any country, 
than the condition of those edifices, which have been once 
solemnly dedicated by the free-will offerings and prayers of our 
forefathers, in primitive times, exclusively to the service of God. 

" Few of them in this country were costly, but they were built 
in times when wealth did not abound — our ancestors were poor, 



50 LLANDUDNO. 

but they • did what they could ;' and mean and simple as most of 
these edifices may appear to us, in an age of commercial 
affluence, and, perhaps, too often of ostentatious rivalry, they 
were then, at least, probably the best and not the meanest 
structures in each parish ; and care was taken in their very 
architecture to give them something of a distinctive character, to 
remind men that there was a difference, and ought to be a 
difference, between their ordinary habitations and the House of 
the great God. They seem to have been imbued with that 
reverential spirit, which could not have borne ' to dwell in houses 
of cedar, while the ark of God dwelt within curtains.' 

" ' They did,' I repeat, ' what they could ;' and we may 
believe, that these attempts, simple and rude as, to us, they may 
seem, must have been the result of Christian feelings; and 
history shews this to have been a fact ; for, in those primitive 
times, the men who had zeal enough to build these ancient 
Churches were impelled by the same Christian influence to 
frequent them, not to desert them, however difficult of access 
they might be, and however inconvenient to us, who live in a 
more luxurious age, their position may appear; whether their 
situation was remote and isolated, on the shore, or on the 
mountain, our early ancestors deemed it a high privilege to 
assemble in God's own house, and with one accord, as one family, 
to send up their common petitions to the throne of grace, and to 
pour forth from full hearts their hymns of praise and 
thanksgiving. 

" They were, indeed, unskilled in the artificial manners and 
blandishments of what is often falsely called civilization ; but 
they had more love without adulation, and more humble reliance 
upon their God, the very threshold of whose house they ever 
entered with reverence and lowly obedience, a sign, we may hope, 
of corresponding lowliness of mind. Such, I believe, was the 
general character of our early ancestors in this country ; but, alas ! 
a more lethargic and careless age succeeded ; our Churches were 
neglected by professed friends, and soon, as a consequence, 
became the scorn of, at first insidious, and afterwards emboldened 



LLANDUDNO, 51 

enemies ; and too applicable to many of them in their dilapidated 
state, open as they were to all the winds of heaven, were the 
words of the Psalmist, ' Yea, the sparrow had found her an house, 
where she could,' and did, ' lay her young, even thy altars,' thy 
consecrated altars, ' my King and my God.' 

" But let us draw a veil over that dark and gloomy page of the 
Church's history in Wales, and thank God that He hath put it 
into the hearts of His servants to raise up and to restore in 
various places the ancient tabernacles of our land. 

" We have indeed special cause to rejoice, and to be thankful 
to Him who rules all hearts, that it is not merely the more 
narrow motive of local attachment, partiality, or supposed 
territorial obligation, which has brought the ready aid to our 
necessity in this instance, but that the free-will offering has pro- 
ceeded from a far higher and holier principle — namely, from 
gratitude to a good God for mercies received, and from that truly 
catholic spirit of Christianity which makes no distinction as to 
countries, nations, language or localities, but seeks out objects of 
sympathy and benevolence wherever they may be found, — would 
that such a spirit were universal ! — would that such an example, 
such Christian leaven, may extend and influence all hearts and 
all acts. 

" There are many interesting circumstances connected with 
ancient fabrics like this, which are not in the same degree 
associated with more modern structures ; they seem to have a 
tendency to impress upon the mind special reflections and feel- 
ings of devotion and seriousness ; they form a kind of link 
between different periods ; and in this place a very remarkable 
one, namely between that period prior to acceptance in England 
of the corruptions of Rome, when the doctrine and example of 
the Christian Tudno illuminated and adorned the British 
Church ; and another glorious period, namely, that of the 
Reformation, when those corruptions were repudiated and 
rejected, and the pure doctrines of the Gospel, as now, I trust, 
held by ourselves, were ratified and confirmed, as those approved 
by that branch of the universal Church established in this 
realm." 



52 LLANDUDNO. 

The sermon closed with a call to self-examination, an exhor- 
tation to unity and godly love, and a pious aspiration that God's 
spiritual Church may be built up in this nation, its breaches be 
healed, its divisions cemented, its ruins repaired ; so that the 
world may rejoice at the glorious sight, and learn to live in 
universal charity and peace. The offerings of the people were 
then collected in aid of the Llandudno Clothing Society. After 
the service the congregation adjourned to a tent erected within 
the Telegraph enclosure, to partake of the hospitality of the 
Incumbent, who had provided luncheon for the occasion. 
During the festivities several speeches were delivered, a report of 
which we abridge from the North Wales Chronicle of October 21, 
1855 :— 

" The usual loyal toasts having been given, 

" The Rev. E. T. Evans said he should be only acting up to 
his duty in proposing the health of a gentleman, for whom he 
felt respect, and to whom the parishioners of Llandudno were 
very greatly indebted. He referred to Mr. William Henry 
Reece, the restorer of that Church. (Applause.) He need not 
say much respecting the restoration of the Church, as it was a 
simple matter of history. They had been trying for some months 
to restore it, but failed. The subscriptions amounted to only 
£7 or £9 ; at all events they were under £20, although Mr. 
Longueville Jones had received £7 from a party totally uncon- 
nected with the parish, for the object. But their exertions were 
put a stop to by Mr. Reece, who came forward, entirely of his 
own accord, with an offer to do the w r ork at his own expense. 
He stated that he had long seen and lamented the delapidated 
state of the Church, whilst walking on the mountain with his 
daughter, and had formed the intention of doing something for 
it. His only daughter having resided in the neighbourhood for 
many years, and being greatly restored in health, as the conse- 
quence, he said he felt a desire to restore that Church, as a 
thank-offering to the Almighty, for the benefits she had received 



LLANDUDNO. 53 

whilst living there. He should say that in their printed circulars, 
the estimated cost of restoring the Church was about £100. 
Mr. Reece said he would take the whole cost upon himself, and 
leave a margin of £50. However, the actual cost had exceeded 
their estimate, for instead of £100 it had cost from £350 to £400 
to place it in the state they saw it that day. Now, such an act 
of liberality called for no remark from him, besides simply 
stating the fact. It was their duty — it was his duty as Incum- 
bent, and of all who felt an interest in Church matters, and it 
was the duty of the parishioners of Llandudno, to feel greatly 
indebted to Mr. Reece, and to wish him and his daughter many 
years of health and happiness ; and that the Church which he 
had restored would prosper in God's cause. (Applause.) 

" Mr. John Williams, Bodafon. said he could not allow the 
last toast to pass without saying one word. He was no speaker, 
but he felt grateful for these things. As a parishioner and 
Churchwarden, it was his bounden duty to express the deep 
obligations he owed, as well as the parishioners, for the hand- 
some manner in which Mr. Reece had restored that old edifice. 
His heart leapt with joy that morning on hearing the old bell 
ringing once more, and he hoped it would never cease ringing. 
Who could tell but that thousands in Heaven were, at that 
moment, glorying in that restoration, and that it might be the 
means of sending thousands more thither. It was the beginning 
of great things, and predicted more than they could in any way 
comprehend. He well recollected the time, when Church 
matters were at a low ebb in the town below, and he was very 
faint-hearted — ready to give up in despair — but Archdeacon 
Newcome wrote him such a kind letter, saying : — ' Don't leave 
it, for God has not allowed that Church to be built without 
intending that some good should come of it, and you may 
depend upon it, that you will see the Church filling yet.' Well, 
it was filling ; and they could not tell what it might lead to, 
for the population was very much increasing. He felt very 
warmly upon the subject, but could not give utterance to his 
feelings. Once more he would express his gratitude and thanks 



54 LLANDUDNO. 

to Mr. Eeece and his family, and many blessings attend them 
here and hereafter. 

" The Rev. J. V. Vincent said, he thought none could refuse 
also to drink the health of Mr. Evans, the Incumbent of 
Llandudno, who had shewn great zeal in this as well as in other 
matters connected with the Church. (Applause. ) 

" The Rev. E. T. Evans hoped he might have every assistance 
from above to do his duty as he should do it ; and he felt very 
grateful to-day that they had been able, through the munificence 
of Mr. Reece, to re-open the old Church. He would do all in his 
power to have as many services in it as possible, and to have 
them conducted properly. The Churchwardens could answer 
for themselves, but he felt bound to say that few Incumbents 
were blessed with more zealous Churchwardens than he. There 
were many undertakings which he should never have carried out 
but for the assistance which they had afforded him. He was 
greatly indebted to them for their services. 

" Mr. Bassett Smith, of Birmingham, expressed the pleasure 
he felt, whilst crossing the mountain that morning, on hearino- 
the old bell sound, after being so long silent ; and, as he 
approached near to the sacred edifice, and heard praise and 
thanksgiving proceeding from those long deserted walls, he 
was deeply grateful for the mercy shewn towards the people of 
Llandudno. He believed it would be the means of doing great 
things for the mountain population, who were in great need of a 
Church, and no man could calculate the blessings which mio-ht 
flow from the services there to be performed. It was delightful 
to think, with Mr. Williams, that thousands of spirits might be 
looking down upon them, and blessing the work, and that 
thousands who had not yet entered upon their mortal existence, 
may have occasion to praise it. Such, he fervently hoped, would 
be the case. When he first saw Llandudno Parish Church, it 
was a ruinous building ; the shattered walls, scarcely able to 
support the roof, were crumbling in decay. Such was the 
condition of a Church founded in the days when the light of 
Christianity first broke into this island, by the pious exertions 



LLANDUDNO. 55 

of the sainted old man to whom it was dedicated. It rose a 
witness of the truth ; and had been such from that time, 
through succeeding ages ; the truth had been preached there, 
and men had often met there to offer up the most acceptable 
sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. How delightful, then, it 
was, to see that Church restored to something like its pristine 
form. True, it wanted much of the character given to Churches 
in latter days by the zeal and culture of our forefathers : it 
lacked the cruciform style ; but still it was a building which 
shadowed forth the Ark of the Church, the vessel in which they 
must sail, if they wished to reach eternity. He felt delighted 
that the structure was restored, and especially that it had been 
the work of a very old and valued friend of his. He accounted 
it a high privilege to have the acquaintance of such a man, and 
ever since he had known him he had loved him. He was 
satisfied that no person who had known either Mr. Reece or his 
family, could do otherwise than admire the whole of its members. 
That he had been the means of doing this good work was a 
source of great gratification to him personally. He (Mr. Smith) 
believed he had been the means of giving them, in Llandudno, 
a new festive day, the day of St. Luke the Evangelist, when he 
had given up this Church to the Clergy and Churchwardens for 
the public benefit. He had no doubt the Clergy would do their 
duty to the Church, and he was sure the Churchwardens would 
do theirs. The painstaking shewn by Mr. Williams, of Bodafon, 
was a certain proof that no care would be wanting to make the 
Church what it should be, and to hand it down to their successors 
as they found it. An onerous and important duty devolved 
upon Churchwardens. It was for them to see that those foes to 
Churches, such as rotting leaves, did not accumulate, and gather 
about them, generating destructive influences to the whole 
edifice. Sometimes, the neglect of a few days, in this respect, 
caused the ultimate downfall of a venerable structure. He 
believed that the Churchwardens, who had the charge of this 
Church, would take care to maintain the work which had been 
that day completed. If they did their duty effectually they 



5fi LLANDUDNO. 

would not only hand down to posterity a properly restored 
edifice, in good repair, but also an excellent example to other 
Churchwardens — such an example as Churchwardens in past 
days had rarely supplied. He would therefore give their health, 
hoping that the festival of St. Luke would be long remembered 
by them all with gratitude, and that each return of this day 
would be a stimulus to them in the discharge of their duties, 
and cause them to think of the subject to which the devotions 
of the day had given rise : that when their work was done here, 
they might attain an inheritance in that world to which they 
were all on their pilgrimage. The health of the Churchwardens, 
was then drunk. 

" Mr. John Williams begged to express his deep gratitude 
for the manner in which his name had been noticed. He 
hoped, in conjunction with his brother Churchwarden, to be 
able to do his duty. He happened to be one of the Church- 
wardens in 1839, when, in a great storm, the roof of the 
Church was blown off. He could only say that they would do 
their utmost to keep it in repair. They had always received the 
most hearty support from their Incumbent. They were not 
only much indebted to Mr. Eeece, but also to Mr. Fiddian, the 
architect, who had taken great pains, and had done his work, 
as they had seen that day, in a very satisfactory manner ; and 
he would hand down his name to posterity with great honour 
in connection with the old Church of Llandudno. He would 
propose the health of Mr. Fiddian. 

" Mr. Fiddian returned thanks for the cordiality shewn him, 
as a member of the body of architects, of which he was an humble 
representative ; at the same time, the compliment was unme^- 
rited, (" No,") yet he would yield to none in his desire to pro- 
mote the interests of the Church, though they might be his 
superiors in talent and means. It was an establishment inti- 
mately connected with the present and future happiness of man, 
and to which his profession naturally belonged. It was on this 
ground that he felt the greatest possible pleasure in carrying out 
the benevolent desires of his esteemed friend, Mr. Reece ; and 



LLANDUDNO. 57 

he could assure them it would be one of the brightest recol- 
lections of his life, that he was engaged as the architect of this 
restoration." 

There was an afternoon service in the Welsh language at St. 
Tudno's Church, the sermon being preached by the Rev. W. 
Jones, Vicar of Nevin ; and there was another Welsh service in 
the evening, at St. George's Church, where the Rev. W. Jones 
again officiated. Each service was attended by crowded congre- 
gations, among whom medals, struck by Mr. Cotterill, of Bir- 
mingham, as durable records of the occasion, were gratuitously 
distributed- The obverse of the medal bears a representation 
of the restored Church in relief, with the name of the archi- 
tect ; and on the reverse is this inscription : "To commemorate 
the restoration of Llandudno Parish Church, A.D. 1855, at the 
sole cost of William Henry Reece, Esq." with the names of 
the Incumbent and Churchwardens. The burial ground en- 
closing St. Tudno's Church has for centuries been the place 
of sepulture for the parish, comparatively few graves having 
been made in St. George's churchyard, which, owing to its 
contiguity to human habitations, is now closed against further 
interments. By an order of Her Majesty in Council, all burials 
in the latter churchyard are prohibited, and are now entirely 
confined to the former. Anticipating, therefore the necessity of 
making due provision in this matter for the requirements of an 
increasing population, the Incumbent and Churchwardens, with 
laudable foresight, have resolved to enclose six acres of land 
immediately adjoining the present burial place on the mountain, 
as soon as funds are available to form a cemetery, after the 
modern practice of ornamenting with appropriate taste those 
gardens for the dead. The services of Mr. Fiddian have been 
put in requisition for this purpose, and he has published a 
pleasing view of the intended cemetery, which, when com- 



58 LLANDUDNO. 

pleted. will be an important addition to the attractions of 
Llandudno. For the venerable Church, combined with the 
wildness of the surrounding scenery, cannot fail to excite the 
interest of visitors, who will find in the projected grounds of 
the cemetery a picturesque promenade of unusual beauty and 
sublimity. 

The situation of the ancient Church of St. Tudno is admi- 
rably adapted to suggest impressive reflections on the might 
and majesty of the High and Holy One, " who hath measured 
the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted out heaven 
with a span, and comprehended the dust of the earth in a 
measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in 
a balance." Standing as it were in the very theatre of God's 
omnipotent energy, we are surrounded by the visible tokens of 
Almighty Power; beneath us rolls the vast illimitable sea, 
whose mighty waters boom upon the stupendous rocks, like the 
distant echoes of eternity ; and beyond us stretch " the ever- 
lasting hills," whose solemn heights are unshaken by the wildest 
storms, and whose sun-lit peaks, towering far above an ocean of 
of mist and vapour surging below, seem like resting-spots for 
angel-bands as they descend on their earthly missions. Here, 
if anyw r here, man must surely recognize the outward manifes- 
tations of the Divine Presence ; and whether, amidst the 
tranquil beauty of a sunny sky, or the sublime terrors of the 
darkening tempest, will gratefully acknowledge the fitness and 
fervour of the piety, which raised an altar in this mountain 
solitude for the worship of Him whom winds and seas obey. 

If, on leaving the Church, you feel inclined to tarry awhile 
within the consecrated enclosure, to meditate among the tombs, 
you will notice many a singular epitaph dictated by the eccen- 
tricities of affectionate remembrance ; 

" While many a holy text is strewed around, 
To teach the l'ustic moralist to die." 



LLANDUDNO. 59 

Among these memorials of the dead will be recognized a tomb- 
stone, which reminds us of one of the most painful disasters in 
the annals of navigation on the Welsh coast. It is the grave of 
Mrs. Tarrey, of Bury, who, with her husband and family, 
perished in the wreck of the Rothsay Castle steam-packet in 
Beaumaris Bay, August 17, 1831. Never, perhaps, in the long 
catalogue of marine accidents, has there been a more extra- 
ordinary and affecting instance of the fatal consequences of 
culpable neglect and infatuated recklessness, than the loss of 
that vessel exemplified. She left Liverpool for Beaumaris about 
eleven o'clock in the morning ; and after a most alarming voy- 
age, during which the captain was earnestly but ineffectually 
exhorted by the passengers to return, she arrived off the Little 
Ormes Head at eight o'clock p.m., was two hours more making 
the passage to the Great Ormes Head, toiling in her dangerous 
course, till at midnight she struck on the Dutchman's Bank, 
and went to pieces amidst the most appalling scenes of misery, 
and despair. It was indeed a fearful night of horrors ; and 
when morning dawned on the wreck, and 

" Burst on the billows the flashing of light," 

it was but to reveal the havoc which the destroying waters had 
made, and to bring the tardy succour which only sufficed for the 
rescue of twenty-two out of one hundred and fifty persons — one 
hundred and twenty-eight having perished. The melancholy 
event excited deep and general feelings of sympathy throughout 
the country ; an official investigation distinctly proved that the 
vessel was not sea-worthy, that the captain was an obstinate 
drunkard, .and that there were no means on board of making 
signals of distress. For some time after the fatal occurrence 
the foot of the Great Ormes Head, the shores of the Conway 
Bay, and the adjacent coasts of Carnarvonshire and Anglesey, 



60 LLANDUDNO. 

were strewn with fragments of the wreck, and the dead bodies 
of the hapless passengers. The mournful history of the loss 
of the Rothsay Castle abounds with most touching inci- 
dents of that memorable night of sorrow and death ; like the 
mysterious scroll seen by the Prophet of old, it is literally 
" written within and without with lamentations, and mourning, 
and woe." The husband of the lady whose grave has suggested 
these painful recollections, was land agent to the Earl of Derby; 
his body was found on the Anglesey shore, and interred on the 
Sunday after the wreck in the churchyard of Beaumaris ; the 
corpse of their infant son was found a few days after near Llan- 
saintffraid Glan Conway; and the discovery of the mortal 
remains, of Mrs. Tarrey was thus touchingly related in a letter 
of September 8, 1831, by Mr. Evans, of the Cottage, at Llan- 
rwst: — "While a friend and myself were at Llandudno, on 
Sunday last, the body of a female, one of the unfortunate pas- 
sengers in the Rothsay Castle, was brought on shore. I had 
the person examined, and found in the pocket a gentleman's 
gold watch, with chain and seals, a brown silk purse, three 
thimbles of different sizes, and some articles for children. On 
her finger were two gold wedding rings and a guard ring, and 
she had two gold ear-drops. Upon my opening the watch case 
the watch paper led me to conclude that she must have been 
from Bury. There were no other means of identifying her. 
I wrote a letter to Mr. Duckworth of Bury ; and yester- 
day the lady's brother cam,e over. She proved to be Mrs. 
Tarrey. On Monday her poor remains were decently interred 
at Llandudno Church. My party, and several other friends, 
from feelings of respect, followed the corpse to its last home, 
and contributed as much as it was in our power, to increase the 
solemnity of the affecting scene." The remains of Mr. Charles 
Bury, who also perished in the wreck, are interred in the burial 



LLANDUDNO. 61 

ground of the Great Ormes Head, and the bodies of others 
unknown; while the churchyards of Conway, Beaumaris, and 
every village in the vicinity, have supplied a last resting-place 
for many of the sufferers in that awful catastrophe. One result 
of the disaster was the erection of a light-house just beyond 
Puffin Island, improved arrangements of the buoys, and a more 
effective supervision of sea-going steamers. The packets now 
plying between Liverpool and the Menai Straits are remarkably 
good vessels, well-appointed, properly provided, and under the 
command of competent officers, whose habitual courtesy and 
intimate acquaintance with the navigation of the Welsh coast, 
have secured for them public confidence and respect. Humanly 
speaking, the occurrence of such another wreck in such a situa- 
tion, lighted and protected as it now is, may be reckoned as a 
most remote improbability. But the perils of the deep are 
manifold ; and a few years since it was the painful duty of the 
keeper of the Telegraph on this mountain to transmit to Liver- 
pool the appalling news of a ship on fire on the other side of 
the promontory ; and he was highly complimented at the time 
on the quickness and accuracy of his intelligence. The horrible 
accident to which we now refer occurred in Abergele Bay, a few 
miles to the eastward of the Great Ormes Head, on Thursday, 
the 24th of August, 1848. The Ocean Monarch, a splendid 
American vessel of 1,300 tons burthen, left the river Mersey 
early on the morning of that day, bound for Boston. She was 
commanded by Captain James Murdoch, and had on board 398 
persons, crew and passengers. The pilot from Liverpool was 
discharged about eight o'clock, and no incident worthy of note 
occurred until a little before twelve o'clock at noon. The captain 
gave orders to tack ship, and while some of the crew were in 
the act of hauling in the main yard, he was informed that one 
of the steerage passengers had made a fire in one of the venti- 



C^ LLANDUDNO. 

lators. He immediately sent the steward and another man to 
extinguish the fire, and bring up the delinquent who had 
kindled it. The ventilator, which was made of wood, and ran 
through the Captain's state room, had been mistaken by the 
man for a chimney. Before the return of the steward, however, 
the Captain discovered thai: the ship itself was actually on fire. 
He gave orders to have water poured upon it, and directed that 
the ship should be kept before the wind, in order to lessen 
the draught ; but the flames burst forth with a rush almost as 
instantaneous as lightning, and in less than five minutes the 
whole stern of the ship was completely enveloped in the fiery 
element. So great was the heat, that the passengers crowded 
to the forepart of the vessel. All control over them was soon 
gone. Their piercing, heart-rending shrieks for aid were carried 
by the breezes across the dark blue waves. In their maddened 
despair women jumped overboard with their offspring in their 
arms, and sunk to rise no more. Men followed their wives in 
frenzy and were lost. Groups of men, women, and children 
also precipitated themselves into the water in the vain hope of 
self-preservation, but the waters closed oyer many of them for 
ever, and fearfully realized the solemn declaration, that " in 
the midst of life we are in death." The flames continued to 
rage with increased fury. In a few minutes the mizen-mast 
went overboard — a few minutes more, and the main-mast shared 
the same fate. There yet remained the fore-mast. As the fire 
was making its way to the forepart of the vessel, the passengers 
and crew, of course, crowded still further forward. To the 
jib-boom they clung in clusters as thick as they could pack — 
even one lying over another. At length the fore-mast went 
overboard, snapping the fastenings of the jib-boom, which, with 
its load of human beings, dropped into the water, amidst the 
most agonizing screams. Some of the poor creatures were 



LLANDUDNO. 63 

enabled again to reach the vessel, others floated away on spars, 
but many met with a watery grave. Meantime the captain gave 
orders to get the ship's boats afloat. Two were got overboard, 
and while in the act of getting the others ready, and cutting 
away the lashings, the fire reached them, and they were imme- 
diately enveloped in flames. On seeing this the passengers 
became more unmanageable than ever. It was a painful 
moment ; the shrieks of terror and alarm baffled all description. 
Maddened by despair, and in the vain hope of being rescued, 
they knew not how, numbers again jumped overboard. In this 
awful position of affairs the captain gave directions to throw 
every moveable article overboard, so that those who had left the 
ship might cling to them until help arrived. At this time the 
Queen of the Ocean yacht bore down upon the luckless vessel. 
Her owner, Mr. Thomas Littledale, (with whom were Sir 
Thomas Hesketh, Mr. Tobin, Mr. Palk, and Mr. Aufrere) was 
returning home from the Beaumaris regatta when he observed 
the flames. The boat of the yacht was lowered, and proceeded 
to the ship for the purpose of rendering what assistance she 
could. As there was a stiff breeze blowing, with a heavy swell, 
it would have been next to certain destruction to the yacht had 
she been run alongside the ship ; but the exertions of Mr. 
Littledale, his friends and crew, were of the noblest description, 
and he was the means of rescuing thirty-two persons from a 
watery grave. Of these twenty were seamen, including the 
Captain, who had flung himself into the water and clung to a 
spar, and the remainder were passengers. In about an hour 
and a half after the yacht reached the vessel, the Brazilian 
steam-frigate Affonso, which was out on a trial trip, came -up. 
She had on board the Prince de Joinville, his Lady and suite, 
the Duke and Duchess d'Aumale, the Brazilian Minister, the 
Chevalier d'Lisboa, Admiral Grenfell and daughters, and other 



04 LLANDUDNO, 

distinguished individuals. She was commanded by the Marquis 
d'Lisboa. Four boats were instantly lowered, together with the 
large paddle-box boat; the Marquis jumped into one, and 
Admiral Grenfell into another, and were untiring in their 
exertions to save the poor people. The Prince de Joinville 
stripped off his coat, and was particularly assiduous in assisting 
the passengers on board the frigate. The heat was very intense ; 
and even to those on board the boats alongside, was very oppres- 
sive. The frigate rescued in all about 160 persons. A noble 
fellow, named Frederick Jerome, went to the wreck when there 
was little hope of saving any one, and stuck to the hull of the 
vessel till every soul had left her. It is said this praiseworthy 
individual, by his own hand, lowered 100 persons to the boats 
below. The Prince of Wales coasting steamer, the New York 
packet-ship New World, and a smack, also came up, after some 
time, and rendered assistance. The Prince of Wales rescued 
17 persons, and the smack 16 ; in all 225 persons were saved, 
173 having sunk into a watery grave. The Ocean Monarch was 
the property of Messrs. Enoch Train and Co., of Boston, and 
was fully insured. Her cargo consisted of 700 tons of iron, a 
large quantity of salt, and some dry goods. The freight, 
together with the passage money, amounted to £2,600. And 
thus, while the warm and sunny flush of a midsummer day 
flung its radiance over the flashing sea, and nearly four hundred 
souls were probably rejoicing in the bright beauty of the scene, 
the gallant ship, which but a few hours before had 

'• Walk'cl the waters like a thing of life, 

And seem'd to dare the elements to strive." 

went down amidst the whirling waves, a hissing mass of fire ; 

within call of land, and yet beyond the reach of help from the 

spectators on shore, whose sympathy could give no succour in 

this fearful time of agony and despair. 



LLANDUDNO. 65 

In her charming book on North Wales, Miss Costello says 
of the Great Ormes Head, that " this part of the coast answers 
in some degree to that on the shores of Brittanny , but the 
traditions and poetical legends of the country have faded away 
here much more than along the answering rocks and wrecking 
headlands in France." We have seen, however, that if traditions 
and legends be wanting, the stern realities of maritime disasters 
supply narratives even more affecting, though perhaps less 
romantic. Nor is our story of melancholy mishaps done, 
though the brief tale of one more startling incident may suffice. 
On the first of January, 1824, the brig Hornby, bound from 
Liverpool to South America, with a cargo valued at upwards of 
£60,000, was driven from her course by a heavy gale ; and, 
about midnight, was dashed against the rugged front of the 
Great Ormes Head, and instantly sunk. One of the crew 
happened at this terrible moment to be out upon the bowsprit, 
and he was flung by the concussion upon a narrow shelf of 
the rock, where he lay for some time stunned and confounded ; 
but at length, exerting that mechanical energy which Provi- 
dence beneficently supplies for self-preservation, even in the 
total absence of consciousness, and which sometimes achieves 
more than deliberation would dare to attempt, he succeeded 
in getting to the top of that frightful precipice, and crawled 
to a smithy at a little distance, where he was found at 
five o'clock in the morning by some workmen employed 
there, in connection with a neighbouring copper mine. He 
told his melancholy story, but was laughed at by his incre- 
dulous auditory ; for he could only say that he had climbed 
up the horrid steep which had wrecked the vessel ; how, 
he knew not, and the thing appeared impossible to those 
acquainted with the place. At day-light, however, (for it was 
winter,) portions of a wreck were discovered near the spot, and 



66 LLANDUDNO. 

the truth of the man's story was shortly afterwards made appa- 
rent. No other individual of the Hornby's crew, or thing 
belonging to her, was saved. The scene of this extraordinary 
occurrence was the north-western point of the precipitous part 
of the promontory overlooking the Menai Straits, and to which 
this disaster has given the name of the Hornby Cave. 

Let us walk in that direction over those verdant downs, 
leaving the old manse on the verge of the cliff to our right, and 
pausing to mark the site of the ancient palace of Prince Madoc, 
Llett Fadog, some rude remains of which are observable ; and 
near it are the relics of a few broken walls, which served the 
sportsmen of the olden time as a watch-place for deer, the 
etymology of its name, Gwylfa y Ceirw, according to Pennant, 
distinctly proving the nature of the enclosure. Proceeding 
westward beyond those vestiges of antiquity, we arrive at a zig-zag 
path cut in the hill, leading down to another singular cavern 
near the Hornby Rock, called Llech, which has latterly excited 
considerable discussion among tourists. In Volume V. of 
" Notes and Queries," a remarkably useful and intelligent work, 
the following inquiry occurs : — 

" Llandudno on the Great Ormes Head. — Having occasion 
to visit the above interesting place last summer, among other 
objects of curiosity I was induced to visit a " cavern," which the 
inhabitants said had been lately discovered, and which they said 
had been used by the Romans (Roman Catholics) as a place of 
worship. A party of five hired a boat, for the purpose of visiting 
the place, which is about two miles from the little Bay cf 
Llandudno, for it is quite inaccessible by land. We arrived in 
about an hour, and quite surprised at the appearance of the 
" cavern," which seems to have been made as private as possible, 
and as inaccessible, by large stones being piled carelessly upon 
each other, so as to hide the entrance, and which we could not 
have found without the assistance of the sailors. The cavern is 



LLANDUDNO. < 

about ten feet high, lined with smooth and well -jointed strong, 
work, with a plain but nicely executed cornice at the height of 
seven or eight feet. The shape is heptagonal, and the fronts on 
each side are faced with smooth stone ; the space from front to 
back, and from side to side, is equal, about six feet six inches. 
On the right, close to the entrance, is a font, sixteen inches 
across inside, twenty-two outside, and eight or nine inches deep. 
There is a seat round, except at the entrance ; and there has 
been a stone table or altar in the centre, but a small portion of 
it and the pillar only remain. The floor has been flagged, but it 
is in a very dilapidated state. That it was used for worship 
there is little doubt ; but how and when it was fitted up seems 
marvellous. It is not mentioned by Pennant, or any Welsh 
tourist. 

" Will any of your correspondents oblige me and the public 
with the history of this ' cavern,' as it is called, at Llandudno? 

"L. G. T." 

"Lichfield." 

A correspondent of the work quoted replied to this query, 
but erroneously confounded the cavern, respecting which infor- 
mation was sought, with the discovery of an ancient mine in 
the mountain. L. G. T. therefore renewed his inquiry, which 
elicited in the seventh volume of " Notes and Queries " this 
explanation : — 

" I am surprised that the twice repeated query of your corre- 
spondent L. G. T. yet remains unanswered.. The cavern he 
refers to is that called Llech, and concerning which he has 
fallen into several errors. The cavern, so far from having been 
lately discovered, has been known for generations past, and is 
yearly visited by hundreds of strangers. If the entrance has 
been made as private and inaccessible as possible, there is 
nobody to blame but nature and time, for the ancient approach 
was from the summit of the cliff, by means of a flight of stone 
and grass steps, of which traces still remain, connected with an 
old stone wall. The cave is easily descried from the sea-shore 
v 



08 LLANDUDNO. 

below, whence it can be reached by the aid of a common ladder. 
The shape is not heptagonal, as stated by L. G. T., but is semi- 
octagonal, terminated in front by two square columns of free- 
stone. The front and seats are in perfect preservation ; but of 
the stone table which many years ago occupied the centre, the 
pedestal only remains. The font, or rather stone basin, is sup- 
plied by a spring of most delicious water, which, at certain 
seasons, flows in copious quantities into an artificial bath, exca- 
vated in the rock below. It is said that the cave was fitted 
up as a grotto, or pleasure-house, by some ancestors of the 
Mostyn family ; and this is all that is known about it. I have 
measured the principal dimensions, and find the quantities 
given by L. G. T. sufficiently accurate. 

" C. Mansfield Ingle by. 
>k Birmingham." 

The accuracy of the description here given has been tested by 
recent observation ; but if any tourist should be desirous of 
exploring the cave, we would recommend great caution in 
attempting the sloping path from the mountain, the approach is 
much safer from a boat. The views from this part of the pro 
montory are exceedingly grand and picturesque. 

Returning past the Telegraph Station towards the town, we 
observe the entrance to the Old Copper Mine at Maes-y-Facrell. 
A long line of rail across the hill forms the arm of a pump used 
to lift water from the mine ; a number of hardy labourers will 
be observed near the spot where heaps of pebbles containing the 
copper ore are lying ; and, on closer examination, the approach 
to the mine will be discovered. It has for ages been a profitable 
source of mineral wealth, and is now worked under the super- 
intendence of Captain Vivian, on behalf of the representatives 
of the late Mr. Hughes., The Gentleman s Magazine records 
that "in October, 1849, the miners at Llandudno, near Con- 
way, broke, in the course of their labours, into what appeared 



LLANDUDNO. 69 

to be an extensive cavern, the roof of which, being one mass of 
stalactite, reflected back their lights with dazzling splendour. 
On examination the cavern turned out to be an old work, pro- 
bably Roman ; the benches, stone hammers, &c, used by that 
ancient people having been found entire, together with many 
bones of mutton, which had been consumed by these primitive 
miners. The bones are, to „all appearance, as fresh, though 
impregnated with copper, as they were when denuded of their 
fleshy covering. The cavern is about forty yards long." The 
catalogue of curiosities in the museum of that intelligent 
antiquary, Mr. Bateman of Youlgrave, contains the following 
entry : — " A collection of articles found in a very ancient copper 
mine at Llandudno, near Conway, North Wales, in October, 
1849, consisting of four large boulders, which have been used 
for pounding the ore ; bones of deer, &c, some of which are 
embedded in stalagmite, and coloured green by the percolation 
of water impregnated by copper ; and also some stalactite, which 
depended from the roof of the mine when the ancient working- 
was broken into. Presented by William Fennell, Esq., of 
Wakefield, 13th December, 1851." And through the kindness 
of Mr. Brushfield, Medical Superintendent of the Cheshire 
Lunatic Asylum, we have been favoured with a copy of the 
following letter, which Mr. Fennell forwarded to Mr. Bateman 
with the ancient articles mentioned in the catalogue : — 

Conway, Dec, 1849. 
Sir, — In answer to your letter of the 1st instant concerning 
Llandudno Copper Mine and the Cavern, which lately appeared 
in the newspapers ; it is a fact that the miners came to this 
extraordinary place, and found there stone benches, which you 
have noticed in your letter, which were made out of rock ; and 
many of the stone hammers were found at the time — they are 
of different sizes, and are from one pound weight to fifty, but 
are mostly of the same shape, which is oblong, and are of a 
bluish colour — and the bones, which are various sizes, which 



70 llandud.no. 

were used in the olden times as chisels in getting the copper 
loose. But most of these curiosities are distributed to different 
parts of the country, which would not be easy to trace. Since 
getting your letter, I made inquiry of one of the miners who 
worked in the very cavern. He said, that the said cavern 
looked most beautiful on the first appearance, but they have 
since demolished the place by blasting for copper ; but he says 
that he still works in the place where the Romans did work in 
olden times, which is only eighteen yards from the surface. 
He has got one of the stone hammers in his own house, which 
he brought, since I mentioned about your letter — the weight is 
19£ lbs. — and he has another one in the works, which he will 
bring with him in a few days, which will weigh, he says, about 
2 lbs. ; and he got one bone, which they used as a chisel, but 
he states he might fall in with more of the bones again. If 
you, Sir, happen to come this way, this miner above-mentioned 
will guide you safe through the works, and shew you all parti- 
culars concerning this work of the past ages. 

Owen Jones. 

Mr. Bateman has also obtained an interesting set of primi- 
tive mining tools from the earliest works on Ecton Hill ; they 
are boulders, which were used for pounding the ore, and stags' 
horns which have been tooled, but for what purpose is not so 
evident. Now the similarity of these ancient tools to those 
from Llandudno in Mr. Bateman 's collection, is very remark- 
able. In each case boulders and stags' horns were found, but 
no other form of instrument; not the slightest trace of any 
metallic tool. Again, the Ecton Hill mine resembles that at 
Llandudno in copper alone being found ; the entire absence of 
iron in either case being especially remarkable. We therefore 
strongly incline to the opinion that these mines were worked by 
the ancient Britons, long before the Roman invasion. The 
primitive nature of the instruments almost proves the inference, 
as we know that the Romans never used so clumsy a method of 
obtaining or pounding the ore ; and, moreover, the use of bronze 
was well known to the inhabitants for a long period before that 



LLANDUDNO. 71 

of iron. The contents of the ancient barrows opened in Derby- 
shire have fully demonstrated that bronze instruments gradually 
displaced the use of stone ones ; and they in their turn gave 
way to those of iron — implements made of bronze and of stone 
being found in the same tumulus, also those of bronze with 
iron, but rarely or never stone with iron. Again, in the early 
barrows the horns of stags are found in great quantities, and 
frequently fashioned into various instruments ; Mr. Bateman 
has one which had evidently been used as a hammer head. 
The abundance of horns continually discovered shows that 
immense numbers of stags must have ranged through these 
isles before the armies of the Romans subjugated Britain. 
Holding then to the opinion that this ancient copper mine on 
the Ormes Head was excavated and worked by the primitive 
inhabitants of North Wales, long before Roman skill and 
science were introduced into this country by " the mighty 
masters of the world," the old cavern discovered in 1849 cannot 
fail to be an object of considerable interest. The curiosity of 
the visitor may be gratified on application for admission to the 
agent. The entrance to the mine is by means of a tram road, 
through a tunnel on a level with the opening, and with suffi- 
cient head-room to prevent the passage from being unsafe or 
particularly disagreeable. " The New Mine," which has been 
opened about fifty years, is on the south-west side of the pro- 
montory towards* the Conway Bay : it yields a profitable supply 
of copper, and is under the management of Mr. Jones, of Vron- 
deg, on behalf of the owner, Mrs. Lloyd, of Cefn, near St. 
Asaph. The ore which is found between the lime-stone strata 
is a green carbonate of copper ; it is generally very rich, but 
exceedingly variable in quantity. While on the subject of the 
Ormes Head mines, whjck have obtained for the mountain 
among the hill-side dwellers the local appellation of the "Welsh 



72 LLANDUDNO. 

California," we may mention the Ty-Gwyn works towards the 
eastern side, which were taken by a Company with considerable 
spirit, and promising hopes of success, as an excellent bed of 
copper was discovered. But the speculation has proved unfor- 
tunate ; as just after the machinery was completed, the sea 
broke into the mine, the works were submerged, and have ever 
since remained under water, all attempts to keep out the flood 
having failed. The right of royalty in the mines belongs to the 
Bishop of Bangor, Lord Mostyn, and the Bodhyfryd family. 

In Conway Church there is a remarkable epitaph to the 
memory of a Mr. Nicholas Hookes, who died in 1637, and whom 
his grave-stone describes as the forty-first child of his father, 
and himself the father of twenty-seven children. This Mr. 
Hookes, according to " Louis's Gleanings in North Wales," was 
" a branch of a very ancient family from Derbyshire ; he was a 
miner, and became a man of property ; but from whence he 
obtained the ore is not recorded." The probability therefore is, 
that he was originally employed in the lead mines of Derbyshire 
whence he emigrated to Conway or Llandudno, and doubt- 
less worked at the mines of the latter place. Among the local 
superstitions of Wales is a curious belief in the existence of a 
mysterious race of supernatural guardians of mines, which Miss 
Costello thus pleasantly notices : — 

" According to the traditions of the country, at least such was 
the belief in more simple and ignorant times, there is a sure 
way of discovering mines by attending to the warnings of a tribe 
of subterraneous spirits, called Knockers, to whom are known 
all the riches of the metallic mountains. The Knockers are not 
always to be trusted, as, like most spirits, they are fond of play- 
ing mischievous tricks ; but those who attend attentively, and 
with faith, to their movements, will seldom fail to be rewarded. 
The villagers in the neighbourhood of mines often listen at the 
mouth of the caverns ; and though these gnomes are not seen, 



LLANDUDNO. 73 

they have been frequently heard to carry on conversations 
together ; but they speak in so low a tone, that no one has ever 
been able to catch the meaning of their words. If a stream 
runs through a mine, it is a great convenience to these little 
people, who appear to be very clean and neat in their dwellings, 
and are often engaged in a great wash by the side of the sub- 
terranean water. 

" Several of the finest mines in Wales have been discovered 
in consequence of the diligence of the Knockers, for they have 
guided the miner to a rich vein more than once. They are 
sometimes heard by hundreds using their little hammers, 
' boring, blasting, and beating down the loose ;' but though the 
mortal miners engaged in the same occupation constantly hear 
them, if they pause to remark the fact to each other, the gnomes 
stop also, and only resume their work when they find their 
fellow-labourers are busy. This has led some unbelieving per- 
sons to imagine that the sound is a mere echo heard in the 
caves ; but one who has had experience will tell how the Knock- 
ers avoid performing the same part of the work the others are 
engaged on ; and invariably are at one kind of occupation while 
they are busy at another. It is a singular piece of caprice on 
their parts, that when once the mortal miners have hit upon a fine 
vein, these little spirits discontinue their own labours, and are 
heard no more. Some venture to affirm that the Knockers are 
nothing more than the rushing or dropping of water ; certain 
it is, that miners are by no means terrified at their vicinity, 
feeling that they are fellow-workmen and good friends." 

We sincerely hope that these fairy miners may always be 
disposed to help forward the prosperity of Llandudno. 

Not far from the Maes y-Facrell Mine Works, in an elevated 
position on the right hand as you proceed towards the town, is 
an ancient relic of Druidical times, usually denominated a 
Cromlech, consisting of five upright unhewn stones, sur- 
mounted by another transversely. The name of this rude 
structure is Lletty-y-Vilast, an appellation which has reference 



74 LLANDUDNO. 

to the British Ceres, who was symbolized by the female grey- 
hound. There are cromlechs with similar names in Glamorgan- 
shire, Cardiganshire, and Caermarthenshire. Whether these 
cromlechs were sacrificial altars or sepulchral monuments, is a 
question which has long occupied the attention of the learned, 
whose opinions have been divided on the subject ; but all are 
agreed that they are the remains of a veiy remote period, dating 
back to a time when history fades into fable amidst the mists of 
antiquity ; and early evidences of a physical and mechanical 
power, which caused them to be regarded as the works of giants 
or spiritual beings. 

A masterly article in the Archceologia Cambrensis for 1849, 
regards the cromlech as a stone erected for sacrificial or other 
purposes, in practising the rites of augury ; or of impressing on 
the popular mind a political or religious principle. Its form is 
said to be clearly recognized in the Tripod at Delphi, from 
whence the oracular responses were delivered, and which may 
be looked upon as the model employed in the erection of altars 
connected with the various modes of practising divination, and 
intended also for the promulgation of laws, or for proclaiming some 
religious observances. The Druids devoted a great portion of 
their time to the study of astronomy, the phenomena of nature, 
the planetary system of the universe, and the magnitude of the 
earth and all visible objects. Every ordinance partook of a 
three-fold character ; and their whole system of laws, science, 
and religion, w r as built upon the Tripod. " There cannot be a 
form better suited than the cromlech to embody the idea of that 
balancing and self-adjusting power which is found to control 
all the celestial motions, and to pervade the whole of the solar 
system." This writer therefore concludes that the cromlech, in 
its figure, has a corresponding relation to the forms and insti- 
tutions of civil government under the sway of the Druids ; that 



LLANDUDNO. 75 

it is to be classed, not so much with memorials of a sepulchral 
character, as with those stone structures which were intended 
to embody, or represent, the attributes and virtues of invisible 
agents in the Pagan Mythology ; and from its probable origin 
in the schools of augury, its proper appellation, when restored 
to its pristine sound and meaning, would be the Awgrym-lech. 

Mr. Woodward, in his " History of Wales," traces in these 
cromlechs testimonies to the origin of the Celtic nations, found 
at the extremity of both the divergent lines of tumuli which 
mark the course of some early migrations of the people from 
the south-west district of Asia. In Britain they are not at 
all rare ; in Denmark, the island of Zealand, and Sweden, they 
are seen ; while in both North and South America, remains of 
precisely the same character are described by travellers. Along 
with cromlechs are found in these islands, other and ruder 
monuments, consisting of immense single stones set upright ; 
in illustration of which we may refer to the oldest records we 
possess — the sacred Scriptures — for parallel instances. The 
pillars and stone altars, erected at various places and on im- 
portant occasions, by the patriarchs, are indications of like 
customs. Celtic altars, too, appear to have been reared under 
an express prohibition of the use of the chisel or hammer ; 
and all the older remains to which we are now referring, seem 
to have been constructed after the fashion of the Divine com- 
mand respecting the tabernacle service, under the Mosaic 
dispensation — " If thou make Me an altar of stone, thou shalt 
not build it of hewn stone." Similar indications, Mr. Wood- 
ward observes, are afforded by the oldest remains in Greece and 
Italy, which (because of the magnitude of the stones composing 
them, and from the custom of referring all works transcending 
the supposed ability of the people of the day to mythical 
beings,) were in early times denominated Cyclopean. This 



70 LLANDUDNO. 

evidence he cites as " sufficient to shew that this island was 
peopled in very remote times, and that the earliest inhabitants 
were akin to those who first streamed forth •from the fountain- 
head of the human family ; whilst the cromlechs serve to 
connect the funereal mounds of these first Britons with the 
language that has been so long cultivated, and so carefully 
developed, and is still cherished as the especial badge of the 
nationality of the Welsh." 

With due respect to those who hold a contrary opinion, we 
cannot help thinking that the researches, which have latterly 
taken place in various parts of England, have accumulated a 
preponderating weight of evidence in favour of the belief that 
cromlechs denote ancient places of British sepulture. 

Leaving the Cromlech you may pass by walks which com- 
mand a beautiful succession of charming views, to another 
relic of Druidical times, the " Maen Sigl," a Logan or Booking 
Stone, called here Crycl Tudno, St. Tudno's Cradle. It is an 
immense stone, so equally poised that a slight push will put it 
in rocking motion. These singular stones, comparatively few 
of which are now found, — since their presumed sanctity has 
not preserved them from destruction where they could be made 
available for common uses, — have been pronounced by clever 
authors to be natural, and not artificial productions ; having 
resulted, it is said, from the partial or almost entire destruction 
of seams in the masses of rock which were of a softer texture 
than the rest. The many instances cited however in Mr. 
Bateman's work on " Vestiges of the Antiquities of Derby- 
shire," would lead to the inference that they are of artificial 
origin, like the Tolmens or rock idols described in Borlase's 
" Antiquities of Cornwall," and were used in the mysterious 
rites of Druidical divination. These stones were regarded in 
former days with superstitious reverence ; and Pennant 



LLANDUDNO. / 7 

(a.d. 1773) says, " it is the conjecture of the learned, that the 
Druids made them instruments of imposition on their votaries, 
and, in case of any judicial determinations, pretended that none 
but their holy hands could move them ; and probably they were 
surrounded with a foss (as in this case), and had their pre- 
scribed road to keep off the vulgar, and give greater solemnity 
to the miraculous decision. The ingenious Bernier relates a 
superstition not very foreign from this. At Sendbrary, in the 
kingdom of Cachemire, the Brahmins, the Druids of India, 
shewed him a stone, which the strongest man could not lift ; 
yet eleven of those holy men, with the tip of their finger, could 
effect it by praying to their saint." The stone itself at Llan- 
dudno is really no great marvel ; but the grey rocks on this part 
of the mountain are exceedingly romantic ; and the view from 
this spot is a lovely scene of singular beauty and interest. 

To the east of the Rocking Stone, overlooking a grand marine 
prospect, are the remains of an ancient British fortress, Pen-y- 
Ddinas. A wall of great thickness encircles the summit of the 
hill ; and within the area are many hollow circles, about twelve 
feet in diameter, edged with stones. This fortification the Rev. 
R. Williams, in his " History of Aberconwy," describes as 
exactly similar to that on Conway town mountain, on Penmaen 
Mawr, and in many other places ; and it answered the same 
purpose, not for a constant residence, but only as a place of 
refuge on the approach of an enemy. 

And now, before descending to the plain from this lofty rock, 
which has echoed the footsteps of so many departed generations, 
and whereon Time in his onward course has set up the land- 
marks of history, as memorials of his mighty pilgrimage, it 
may be well to gather up our thoughts, and reflect on the mar- 
vellous changes which have occurred since on these heights 
Druid priests, amidst the incantations of their mysterious 



78 LLANDUDNO. 

circles, invoked the patriotism of courageous barbarism in 
defence of their altars and their homes ; and the valour of 
British heroism vainly struggled to repel the incursions of 
Roman prowess. Here, in the primitive days of superstitious 
ignorance, has the worship of the people, like that of ancient 
Athens, been offered to the " unknown God ;" and in these 
majestic solitudes, the language of natural religion has seemed 
to find fit utterance in the poet's ejaculation : — 

" To Thee whose temple is all space, 

Whose altar, earth, sea, skies ; 
One chorus let all beings raise : 

All nature's incense rise !" 

For time was, when amidst the shadows of night, and under 
the over-arching canopy of heaven, the chant has arisen and the 
prayer ascended : — sacrificial fires have burned on the highest 
mountains, and flared upwards to the midnight stars. Or, at 
the quiet dawn of day, on the sea-shore, while the waters rolled 
with their snowy foam just glimmering beneath the light of 
morn, and as the sun has arisen and tinted the distant horizon 
with beams of golden beauty, have men knelt to offer their 
tribute of praise and prayer ; and amidst the dewy splendour of 
the scene, and the grand music of the billowy ocean, the voice 
trembling with the heart's needs has been heard ascending to the 
King of another clime.* But the worship of nature, grand and 
glorious as was the temple of the universe in which it was 
solemnized, failed to satisfy the intense longings after immor- 
tality ; it led only to the closed gates of paradise, and it was 
reserved for the religion of Christianity, not only to bless and 
sanctify the wondrous beauty of creation, but to " open the 
kingdom of heaven to all believers." And so, under its civiliz- 
ing influences, the dim shadows of Druidical philosophy, and 

* The Rev. J. W. Lester's Orations. 




LLANDUDNO. 79 

the dark clouds of a gloomy superstition have rolled away ; 
Britain rejoices in the broad day-light of freedom and know- 
ledge, and has become the fairest spot that religion ever hallowed, 
or liberty ever blessed. The contrast is most cheering ; and so, 
with thankful hearts, and bodies invigorated by this fresh 
mountain-breeze, proceed we now to our evening refreshment 
and repose. 



G GARTH. 

HE south-western side of the Great Ormes Head 
remains to be described. Passing through the Church 
Walks into the fields beyond, where the path opens 
upon the Conway Bay, you turn to the right, and ascending a 
gentle slope on the green hill side, proceed by a farm, whose 
fertility pleasantly contrasts with the stern aspect of the 
surrounding district, to the ruins of Gogakth Abbey, the 
ancient residence of the Bishop of Bangor, who is Lord of the 
Manor. It was formerly a building of importance ; but only a 
few broken walls remain, with no architectural feature to 
determine their date ; although some keen sighted antiquarians 
have affirmed that the ruins exhibit traces of partly early and 
partly mediaeval construction. Enough, however, is left to shew 
that this was an edifice of considerable note ; and recent 
discoveries of human bones have sufficed to mark the spot where 
the reverend fathers of the convent made their graves. It is 
said to have been an appendage to the Abbey of Conway, but 
the day of its glory had closed at an early period, for it was 
in ruins before the time of Lei and, the celebrated topographer 
of Henry the Eighth's reign, who has preserved this record of it 



80 LLANDUDNO. 

in his Itinerary : — " There is by Conwy, on the hither side of 
Conwy water, an arme like a peninsula, called Gogarth, lying 
against Priestholme, and ther be the mines of a place of the 
Bishops of Bangor." 



-'•' The pious work 



Of names once famed, now dubious or forgot, 
And buried 'midst the wreck of things which were. 




!' I '. n:\faen MAWJi. 



The marine and mountain views from the steeps of the pro- 
montory, Pen Gogarth, are beautifully diversified, and exceedingly 
majestic. The abrupt and rugged precipices of stupendous 
rocks, indented along the shore with wave-worn caves, into 
which the ocean rolls its rushing tides ; and scooped by the 
hand of nature into innumerable hollows, where thousands of 
sea-birds make their nests, form a remarkable scene of wildness 
and grandeur, which developes into still more impressive 
sublimity, as the projecting mountain is rounded towards Hornby 
Cave ; while the prospect across the Conway Bay, including the 
black ranee of Penmaen Mawr, the wood-crowned heights of 



LLANDUDNO. 81 

Conway, with the picturesque outline of its romantic Castle, and 
the intervening landscape, with its bright green hills and dales 
in all the freshness of luxuriant verdure, constitutes a living 
panorama which the dullest mind cannot contemplate without 
emotion. And when mountain crag and darkening woods, and 
the deep blue sea are tinged with the golden glory of the setting- 
sun, the language of poetry is alone adequate to describe its 
beauty. Indeed, for magnificent views of sun-rise or sun-set, 
we may safely commend our readers to the summit or the 
declivities of the Great Ormes Head, whence the natural 
splendours of the opening or the closing day may be contemplated 
to advantage, and the raptures of poetic fancy fully realized. 

It appears from geographical researches, that although 
Gogarth has its rocks now washed by the sea, it was formerly 
an inland mountain. Cantref Gwaelod, which is celebrated as a 
•' most delicate vale, abounding in fruitfulness, and excelling all 
other vales in fertility and plentifulness," extending from 
Bangor Fawr to Gogarth. and in breadth from Dygyvylchi (near 
Penmaen Bache) to the point of Flintshire, which came up from 
Rhuddlan to Priestholme ; in the upper end it reached from 
Llanfair Fechan and Aber to the river Gell, which divided Arfon 
from Anglesea, and Anglesea from Flintshire. This river, or 
strait, flowed between Priestholme and Penmon, and discharged 
itself into the sea a great distance beyond Priestholme. The 
district belonged to Helig ab Glanawg, whose palace, which was 
destroyed by a flood of waters, stood about midway between 
Penmaen Mawr and Gogarth, over against Trewyn-yr-Wylfa, 
which place is supposed to have its name, " The point of the 
place of wailing," at that period — for it was thither that the 
inhabitants with difficulty escaped, so sudden and overwhelming 
was the inundation. The Lavan sands also derive their name, 
Traeth Wylofaui, from the same event, which occurred in the 



82 LLANDUDNO. 

beginning of the sixth century. This inundation is still recorded 
in the traditions of Wales. " The tragical occurrence was 
prophesied, it is said, for generations ; and a threat had gone 
forth, that vengeance should overtake the family of Helig ab 
Glanawg for the crimes of his ancestors. Night after night, on 
the wild rocks and shores, amidst the hills and in the valleys, was 
heard the fearful cry of ' Dial a ddaw ! dial a ddaw !' but the 
wailer was invisible to all. At length it came, and suddenly, as 
mighty calamities, even though dreaded, generally do ; — there 
was a great feast in the house of Helig, and the guests forgot in 
their jovial carousal, that fate was only pausing to overtake 
them. They called for more wine, and a servant was despatched 
into the cellar to procure some, while the old harper sat leaning on 
his harp, and the tears ran down upon the strings; for his spirit 
foresaw some coming evil. They reproached him for his silence, 
and he put forth his hand to awaken the chords, when a cry 
struck his ear, and the next moment the servant who had gone 
for wine rushed wildly into the hall, shrieking — ' the tide ! the 
tide !' Those two alone had time to quit the house of Helig, 
and found safety in the mountains ; all besides were swallowed 
— lands, flocks, and villages — by the impetuous torrent ; and 
the fertile vale of Conway for miles was all one sheet of foaming 
waters, as it remains to this day. At a very low ebb, or with a 
strong south-west wind, waves may be distinctly seen breaking 
upon a causeway which runs into the sea at the Great Ormes 
Head ; this is called the Muriau, or the walls.'" 

This traditionary narrative has occupied, the attention of 
many writers ; and we may trace the story through the works 
of various authors from a very remote period. Mr. Pugh, in 
the narrative of his " Tour through North Wales," under the 
title of Cambria Depicta (1812) says : — 



LLANDUDNO. 83 

" Having left the island (Priestholme, commonly known as 
Puffin Island), we floated over the place where, tradition says, 
one Helig Voel ab Glanog, a chieftain of the sixth century, had 
great possessions, extending far into this bay ; but which were 
suddenly overwhelmed by the sea. It is said that at very low 
ebbs, ruined houses are yet seen, and a causeway, pointing from 
Priestholme-island to Penmaenmawr. This causeway, indeed, is 
easily visible ; the boatman placing me right over it, and keep- 
ing the boat's head to the tide, enabled me to examine it well : 
but, though so clearly seen as to appear near to the surface, the 
man assured me that it could not be less than two or three 
fathoms below it. It seemed to be about nine feet wide, well 
built, with large massy stones cut into forms, of a light warm 
grey colour, in all respects like those on the sides of the adja- 
cent isle. From the certainty of the existence of this causeway, 
we may venture to give credit to the existence of the remains of 
Helig's houses. Helig, after the awful visitation just related, 
embraced a religious life ; and his twelve children followed his 
example." 

It will be observed, that this story of the sudden deluge 
bears a strong resemblance to the inundation which submerged 
the territory of St. Tudno's father, in Cardiganshire, insomuch 
that some writers have described the ancient founder of Llan- 
dudno Church as the son of this Helig, which is certainly a 
mistake, as these disasters, though very similar, are unquestion- 
ably related as two distinct occurrences. Lady Marshall has 
made the Cymric Legend of the seventh century the subject of 
an interesting poem, entitled " Helig's Warning." It opens 
with a description of the preparatory festivities to celebrate the 

" consecrating rite 

Which Caw's fair daughter should unite 
To Helig's high-born son." 

All is joy and gladness, brightness and beauty ; 
And, 'neath his brows of white, 
Old Gogarth's vaulted aisles, 



84 LLANDUDNO. 

Decked for the coming rite, 

Beamed forth approving smiles : 
And Hoods of artful light, 
That chased the lingering night, 
1 "oured through rich storied panes, while all around, 

Harmonious chimes from towers aloft. 
Thrilled through the valley with sweet sound. 

Melting on Penmon's heights in cadence low and soft. 

The bridegroom goes forth from his chamber, and the bride 

from her closet ; troops of damsels sing the praises of valour 

and beauty to the music of " the wreathy dance ;" banners 

flutter from each " rampart to\ver ,; of the palace : the hereditary 

Bard strikes his harp in honour of Cymric chivalry ; but amidst 

sights so brave, and sounds so gay, thrills the mysterious 

malediction — 

" Vengeance is coming — Dial in Ddaw ! " 

The sage pours forth his strains of historic minstrelsy : the 

procession goes forth in bridal pomp ; the rite is solemnized ; 

the banquet spread ; again the whispered denunciation appals 

the festive throng — but the feast proceeds ; the Chieftain and 

his twelve twin-sons, however, heed the warning, and betake 

them to the mountain desert ; while the Lady-Mother with her 

eldest born and his bride scoff at the threatening woe, and join 

in the revels of the masque, when the avenging flood sweeps 

over the doomed abode : and of all the carousing crowd, the 

cup-bearer and the harper alone escape to tell the tale of horror. 

In truth it was a night 
Of growing horror — treble in gloom — 
Strange flits of light 
Deceived the sight, 
And an unwonted sound like ocean's boom, 
Through the loud wailing storm found room. 

Kneeling in fervid prayer 
Upon the storm-swept ground, 

As meet at such an hour of fear, 
The aged seer they found. 



LLANDUDXo. 85 

The chief his penance shares 

First, at the altar rude ; 
And next the twin -born pairs : 
Then of the multitude 
Who started on the dread ascent, 
Came straggling fews, and round it bent; 
Whom darkness scared, or fear or toil subdued, 
Were up and down upon the desert strewed 
And sometimes with the driving blast, 
Came shrieks of wanderers lonely cast. 
Bewildered in the trackless waste ; 
And mingling with the voice of woe. 
The solemn Miserere's flow, 
Led by the Saint and choired aloud 
Among the impassioned kneeling crowd, 
With awful symphonies combined, 
Deep diapasons of the wind. 

First a pale yellow glimmer spread, 

As grudged from the reluctant sky. 
And smiling like the recent dead, 
A cold and mocking radiance shed 

Upon that carnedd gaunt and high, 
Which on the happy yesterday, 
Had worn an aspect almost gay : 
Then gleamed on Penmaen's visage pale, 

And slow the eddying vapour scared. 
As some stern abbess dropped the veil, 

And her earth-scorning bosom bared ; 
Down as the fleecy vesture rolled ; 

Came one by one in view the rocks, 
Deep caves and promontories bold, 

Home of the eagle and the fox. 

All — all was there, as it had been 

By every eager eye that gazed. 
Through infancy and manhood seen — 

But soon a sight their hearts amazed — 
What could it be — that cold grey sheet 

That seemed a reflex of the sky, 
Enwrapped the mountain's flowery feet. 

And hid the valley from the eye ? 
Can it or dream, or mist, or fancy be " 
Tis the revengeful Sea! 



80 LLANDUDISO. 

Cottage and hamlet- — tower and town — 

Forest and garden — farm and field — 
All in one ruin overthrown — 

In one dark doom for ever sealed I 

Best the attempt forbear 

To paint the blank despair 

That paled each visage there ; 
For words are unavailing ; 

Yet was it ne'er forgot, 

From then till now that spot 
Is called the Mount of Wailing ! 

Now from their depth of grief, 

The hermit and the Chief 
Eecalled the frantic host, and kneeling, 

Praise to their God poured forth 

Who mingles with His wrath 
His mercy healing. 

In thankful homage bowed, 

Himself and sons he vowed, 
Now landless all and lowly, 

Their lives thenceforward spent, 

Like him that Hermit-Saint, 
To service pure and holy. 

The received account of this sudden submersion of a fertile 
and inhabited territory has naturally excited much discussion 
in this age of antiquarian investigation ; and not without the 
production of some important evidence. Thus a writer in the 
Archceologia Cambrensis observes : — 

" There are many proofs of the advancement of the sea along 
the coast to the north of Cardigan Bay. When the Roman 
army, under Suetonius Paulinus, invaded the Island of Angle- 
sey, the cavalry crossed the Menai Strait partly by swimming 
over, and partly by fording it, according to Tacitus's account. 
The place where the Romans crossed over the Menai is said to 
be near Porthamel, and now the river is about half a mile 
broad at low water, and many fathoms deep ; and near the 
same place Agricola and his forces crossed over, fifty years after 
Suetonius, when, as we learn from the same author, the infantry 



LLANDUDNO. 87 

and cavalry swam over and forded the river, having first gained 
information from the inhabitants, who were well acquainted 
with the fords, as to the method in the country of swimming 
over such places ; but, at present, it would be impossible to 
cross over any part of the Menai, in the manner described by 
the Roman author. There is a tradition similar to the one 
respecting Cantre'r Gwaelod, that the whole of that range of 
sand which extends from the vicinity of Beaumaris towards 
the Great Ormes Head, and called Traeth y Lafan, was over- 
whelmed by an inundation, and that it was then the estate of 
one Helyg ab Glanog, who lived at a place called Dol Halyg, in 
that neighbourhood. This calamity like the foregoing one, is 
said to have come upon the place unexpectedly during a great 
feast. A vast extent of inhabited country is supposed to have 
been over-run by the sea to the north of the town of Abergele : 
and as a proof of this, we may cite an epitaph in the Welsh 
language, without a date or a name, stating that the person to 
whose memory the monument had been erected lived three 
miles to the north ; but three miles to the north of Abergele 
would now extend a long distance into the sea. Many other 
testimonials might be added, both from ancient records and 
traditions, to show that the sea has encroached upon the land 
on the western coast of Wales. But if the geological evidences 
could, be examined along the whole line of coast, from Pem- 
brokeshire to the estuary of the Dee, I think much light would 
be thrown upon what has been already stated of the inundation 
of Cantre and Gwaelod." 

And again, it is further remarked in the same publication : — 

" There is another and a more important tradition connected 
with this island, to the effect that it was once joined to the main 
land, in the direction of Penmaen Mawr, where now only the 
Lavan sands exist ; and a long spit of rocks, stretching out in 
that direction from the south-eastern extremity of the island, is 
said to be the remains of a causeway, used by travellers to 
arrive thither. The Menai Strait is said at that time to have 



88 LLANDUDNO. 

been only like a river and to have had its exit into the main 
sea after passing through Penmon Sound, far out to the north 
west of the island, where it was met by the Conwy flowing 
between Llandudno and Ynys Seiriol (Priestholme or Puffin 
Island). We only mention the tradition here, without going 
into a discussion upon its merits : but we wish merely to record 
our own opinion, from geological data, that though the course of 
the Menai and the outlines of its shores have undergone ap- 
parently more than one important change of form, we see 
nothing improbable in what the tradition states to have been 
the fact. But whether the final insulation of Ynys Seiriol had 
not taken place long before the religious community was settled 
there is certainly questionable, else the isolation of their retreat 
would not have been complete." 

In the examination of this singular question, it should not 
be forgotten that Puffin Island is in the county of Flint, to 
which it is supposed it was once joined by an arm of land, 
running past the Ormes Heads from the neighbourhood of 
Rhyl. 



CONWAY BAY. 

ETURNING from Gogarth, a delightful rambl< 
may be enjoyed on the firm sands of the Conway Bay 
and if, as Lord Byron sings — 

" There is a rapture on the lonely shore. 
There is society, where none intrudes, 
By the deep sea, and music in its roar ; '" 

here is a spot where in social or moody humour such rapture 
may be felt; presenting, as it does, a combination of attrac- 
tions for the geologist, the antiquary, the student of natural 
history, or the pleasure-seeking lover of the picturesque. The 
sands are studded with most remarkable masses of rock and 




LLANDUDNO. 89 

immense stones, lying, detached from each other in singular 
confusion, as if left by the subsidence of the waves or hurled 
thither by some extraordinary convulsion of nature ; and, as 
there is an old tradition to the effect that the plain between the 
two bays was originally overflowed by the sea, another subject 
for learned discussion here suggests itself. These stones, which 
other accounts describe as remnants of the ground on which 
Castell Tremlyd formerly stood, are well worth examination ; 
and along this pleasant and salubrious strand, there are numer- 
ous opportunities for studying "the wonders of the shore." 
The river, of which this bay forms the estuary, takes its rise 
from Llyn Conwy, among the mountains near Penmaclmo ; 
and in its course of thirty miles, it receives the tributary streams 
of the various springs and torrents which " run among the 
hills," flowing through the lovely scenery of Bettws-y-coed, past 
the pretty village of Trefriew, and forming, by its meandering 
waters, a succession of apparent lakes down to Conway, whence 
it falls into the sea. Besides the usual kinds of fish common 
to most rivers, the Conway produces salmon of a hne flavour ; 
brwyniaid, or sparlings, in the months of January and Feb- 
ruary ; and sand-eels of the size of sprats, during the spring- 
season. It has long been celebrated for its Pearl Fishery, 
which attracted the notice of the Romans. Pliny says thai 
Julius Caesar dedicated to one of the Temples in Rome a breast- 
plate set with British pearls — probably from Conway. There 
are two kinds of mussels found in this river, from which pearls 
are obtained — the myd margaretifera, cragen y diluw ; and the 
mytilus edulis, cragan las — the former species being gathered 
high up the stream , and occasionally yielding pearls scarcely 
inferior in beauty to those of oriental climes. The finer pearls 
are seldom met with, although the shells, which are five inches 
and a half long arid two and a half broad, are common. The 



90 LLANDUDNO. 

other variety is found at the mouth of the river, where, at ebb 
tide, the families of the fishers may be observed busily collecting 
the mussels, which are usually boiled in iron pots on the oppo- 
site marsh. The fish are picked out and put into a tub, 
and stamped with the feet till they are reduced to a pulp, when 
water being poured in, the animal matter floats, while the resi- 
due sinks to the bottom. After numerous washings, the 
sediment is collected and dried, and the pearls are separated 
with a feather, on a wooden platter. The gems are then sold 
to the agent, by whom they are transmitted in the natural state 
to the jewellers, among whom they find a ready and profitable 
market. The pearl mussel is not fit for human food. This 
peculiar fishery has now been in active operation for ages, and 
is said to be on the decline ; but the published assertion of Mr. 
Bridge of Conway, who states that in the year 1851 he paid 
nearly £200 to the poor people of the neighbourhood for collect- 
ing them, would certainly lead to a contrary inference. One of 
the finer kind of Conway pearls was presented to Catherine, 
Queen of Charles II. by Her Majesty's Chamberlain, Sir Robert 
Wynne of Gwydir, and honoured with a place in the royal 
crown ; which it probably yet adorns in testimony of the gallant 
Welshman's loyalty. During the reign of George III. Sir Richard 
Vaughan appeared at court with a button and loop in his hat 
set with Conway pearls. Miss Catherine Sinclair, in her own 
pleasant fashion, says, when she was at Conway (in 1833) 
" unluckily we had not time to wait until a necklace could be 
collected. The imitation ones are so excellent, however, that it 
was less to be regretted. Even oriental pearls are scarcely to be 
distinguished from those which originate in Bond-street; and 
the celebrated fringe worn by Mrs. Warren Hastings, which 
used to occasion so much discussion, would hardly be more 
noticed now than if they were peas. The Duchess of Ormond 




LLANDUDNO. 91 

formerly offered £80 to purchase a peculiarly fine Conway pearl ; 
and they were often sold for four guineas each when the colour 
was good. It is said that nothing preserves pearls so perfectly 
white as being constantly worn ; and that the Roman ladies, 
conscious of this, always slept in theirs." 



DYGANWY CASTLE. 

jVjf FURTHER walk along the shore (of less than half 
an hour) if visitors be so minded, will bring them to 
one of the most memorable places in the early 
history of Wales, the site of Dyganwy, which occupied two con- 
spicuous hills on the Conway shore, but of which only a few 
earth-covered shrub-clad vestiges exist. 

" Its lofty towers no more ; 

Not e'en the ruins of its pomp remain, 
Not e'en the dust they sank in." 

Learned antiquaries are of opinion that the Cangorum Civitas of 
the Romans, mentioned by Tacitus, was at Dyganwy, (so named 
from the white waves breaking on the shore ;) but that it was a 
town of the Ordovices, before the invasion of Julius Caesar, is 
evident from the discovery there of weapons of war peculiar to 
the ancient Britons. The inroads of the Saxons subsequently 
compelled the chieftains of North Wales to pay some attention 
to the science of fortification, and to put their irregular towns 
into a state of defence. Maelgwyn Grwynedd accordingly fortified 
Dyganwy, early in the sixth century, and built there a strong 
castle, in which he afterwards held his court as the royal 
successor of King Arthur. An incident of a rather romantic 
character occurred here during his reign, in connection with the 
justly celebrated Bard, Taliesin, whose birth is involved in 



93 LLANDUDNO. 

mystery. He was discovered, when an infant, floating in a 
leathern bag in the salmon-weir, which belonged to Elphin, son 
of Gwyddno, who was joint proprietor with St. Tudno's father 
of the territory Cantref y Gwaelod, that was lost by the 
irruption of the sea. The salmon-weir (says the clever author 
of " Welsh Sketches,") was all he had to give his son, and of 
course it must have been a grievous disappointment to poor 
Elphin, coming on the tiptoe of expectation, to find a child to 
support, instead of a haul of salmon to support himself. How- 
ever, he acted the part of a noble prince and a good Christian. 
He took the foundling home, and brought him up. So soon as 
he had attained the proper age he was placed in the monastery 
of Llancarvan, under Catwg the Wise, the first abbot. Here 
he became acquainted with Aneurim, and is supposed to have 
been brought under the notice of Urien Rheged, a Cumbrian 
chief, who had fled his native land and taken refuge in Wales. 
Urien was a kind friend to Taliesin, who, as in duty bound, has 
sung the praises of his patron. There is one production of the 
muse of Taliesin most honourable to him. In a family feud 
(such things will be) Elphin was taken prisoner by his uncle 
Maelgwyn, prince of North Wales, and confined in a strong 
Castle (at Dyganwy) ; Taliesin thereupon addressed to this 
harsh kinsman a poetical appeal in behalf of his benefactor. 
The petition was successful, Elphin was released ; and the bard 
had the satisfaction of serving one friend and winning another, 
as Maelgwyn ever after became his staunch supporter. A poet 
would have to sing a long time nowaday before he sang a captive 
free. But ours is literally and metaphorically an iron age. 
The life of Taliesin appears to have glided tranquilly on, exempt 
from care or sorrow. Always a welcome guest at the castles of 
his admirers, he had a little hermitage of his own, to which he 
could retire when ho wished : it was on the Lake Coirionydd, in 
Carnarvonshire. 



LLANDUDNO. 93 

Dyganwy continued to be the residence of the Kings of North 
Wales until the year 810, when it was destroyed by lightning, 
and was never afterwards rebuilt by the Welsh. The ruins 
now discoverable are those of a fortress built by Hugh Lupus, 
Earl of Chester, who held a grant of all places between the 
ancient city from which he took his title and " the Conway 
water." Robert of Khuddlan, a favourite of the Earl, held office 
at Dyganwy as Constable of the Castle, where his death occurred 
under somewhat singular circumstances. Mr. Pennant states 
that on July 3, 1088, Prince Gruffydd ab Cynan entered the 
Conway river with three ships, and landing under the Castle at 
high water, left the vessels on shore at the recess of the tide. He 
ravaged the neighbouring country, and drove towards the ships 
a great booty of men and cattle. The governor, indignant at this 
intrusion, descended from his fortress, attended by a single 
soldier, Osbern de Orgar, and without any defensive armour but 
his shield. The Welsh attacked him with missile weapons, and, 
filling his shield so full of darts that it fell under their weight, 
the enemy rushed on him, cut off his head, and, fastening it to 
a mast, sailed off in savage triumph. About a century after this 
event, the Castle was demolished by Llewellyn the Great; when 
the fortunes of war again fluctuated, and it was rebuilt in 1210 
by Randle Blondevil, Earl of Chester. In 1211 King John, 
during his invasion of North Wales, encamped his army under 
its walls ; but the strategy of Llewellyn having warned his 
Cambrian followers to remove their cattle and effects to the 
secure retreats of the Snowdonian mountains, and cut off all 
resources, the forces of the English monarch were soon reduced 
to great wretchedness, and compelled to a disastrous retreat. 
Enraged at this repulse, the King returned to Wales a few 
months afterwards with a more powerful army, crossed the Conway, 
and marched to Bangor, which his troops destroyed by fire, and 



94 LLANDUDNO. 

took the Bishop prisoner. Deserted by his vassal princes, 
Llewellyn sued for peace, which was successfully mediated by 
Joan, his Queen, who was King John's daughter. During this 
short period of Welsh humiliation, a nuncio from the Pope 
visited Llewellyn, denounced the English King as an open 
enemy to the Church of God, and gave strict command for his 
constant molestation and annoyance. The Cambrian chieftain, 
nothing loth, roused his countrymen to liberty and revenge. 
With ferocious promptitude they responded to his call, and carried 
fire and slaughter throughout the English settlements to the 
very gates of Chester. The alarming intelligence soon reached 
King John, whom it excited to barbarous reprisals ; and on his 
arrival at the castle of Nottingham, where twenty-eight of the sons 
of the Welsh nobility were detained as hostages, he ordered the 
unhappy youths to be instantly hanged, and vowed he would not 
break bread till the execution of his bloody decree was 
accomplished. He prepared to return to Wales for the 
chastisement of the revolt, when news arrived of a formidable 
conspiracy against his throne and person, and compelled his 
presence in London. Llewellyn was not slow in taking 
sanguinary vengeance ; he laid siege to the royal castles between 
the Dee and the Conway, all of which he captured ; thus 
liberating his native land from the oppression of the English 
garrisons, his banner again floated triumphantly from the towers 
of Dyganwy. 

During the reign of Henry III. a large body of English troops 
was marched into Wales, for the purpose of effecting its entire 
subjugation, and halted at Dyganwy in 1245, when John de 
Grey of Wilton was constable of the castle. Fearing to follow 
the Welsh into their strongholds among the mountains, the 
King of England would not venture to cross the Conway ; and 
for ten weeks bis forces suffered dreadful privations, being 



LLANDUDNO, 95 

exposed to the inclemency of the weather, and cut off, as in King- 
John's days, from all supplies — the intervening country being in 
the hands of the Cambrian chiefs. There is preserved in the 
chronicles of Matthew Paris a letter, written in the autumn of that 
year by a nobleman in the royal camp to a friend in England : — 
" The King, with his army, is encamped at Gannock, (the 
English name for Dyganwy), and is busy in fortifying that place, 
sufficiently strong already ; about which we he in our tents, in 
watching, fasting, praying, and freezing. We watch for fear 
of the Welsh, who were used to come suddenly upon us in the 
night-time ; we fast for want of provision, the halfpenny loaf 
being now risen, and advanced to five pence ; we pray that we 
may speedily return safe and scot-free home ; and we freeze for 
want of winter garments, having but a thin linen shirt to keep 
us from the wind." Then we have an account of a vessel from 
Ireland, laden with wine, stranded on the Welsh side of the 
castle of Gannock. There is a great struggle for the prize ; the 
English, at first, have the advantage. " In their return back," 
to take up the letter again, " our soldiers, being too covetous and 
greedy of plunder, among other sacrilegious and profane actions, 
spoiled the Abbey of Aberconway, and burnt all the books, and 
other choice utensils belonging to it. The Welsh being distracted 
at these irreligious practices, got together in great numbers, and 
in a desperate manner setting on the English, killing a great 
number of them, and following the rest to the water-side, forced 
as many as could not make their escape into the boats to commit 
themselves to the mercy of the waves. Those they took 
prisoners they thought to reserve for exchange; but, hearing 
how we put some of their captive nobility to death, they altered 
their minds, and in a revengeful manner scattered their 
dilacerated carcasses along the surface of the water." The Welsh 
in the end, got the wine and burnt the ship. The letter finishes 



96 LLANDUDNO. 

in a melancholy strain, — •'• And thus we lay encamped in great 
misery and distress for want of necessaries, exposed to great and 
frequent dangers, and in great fear of the private assaults and 
sudden incursions of our enemies. Oftentimes we set upon and 
assailed the Welsh, and in one conflict we carried away an 
hundred head of cattle, which very triumphantly we conveyed 
to our camp ; for the scarcity of provision was then so great, 
that there remained but one hogshead of wine in the whole army ; 
a bushel of corn being sold for twenty shillings, a fed ox for three 
or four marks, and an hen for eightpence : so that there 
happened a very lamentable mortality both of men and horse, 
for want of necessary sustenance of life." The Welsh nation are 
heavily censured for the barbarities perpetrated in their wars. 
The censure is just ; yet they might, and there are indications 
that they would, have acted better had the incentive of good 
example been set before them. The reader of the letter cited will 
have observed that the Welsh, in the first instance, intended to 
reserve their prisoners for exchange, and only altered their minds 
on learning that the English had put their prisoners of rank to 
death. Evidently, a soldier's life in Wales held out no very agree- 
able prospect. Unpleasant reminiscences floating in the royal mind 
may have influenced the monarchs of England in their very 
liberal grants which they made to knights and barons of lands 
and possessions in Wales. Sitting in the palace of Westminster 
in regal state, signing, sealing, and delivering parchment rolls to 
the mailed petitioners who knelt at their feet, was a much more 
befitting and kingly occupation than watching, praying, fasting 
and freezing, pent up within the sea-washed walls of a dismal 
Welsh fortress.- Wasted by such misery, the English army 
retired without having gained any advantage ; but the succeeding 

* Welsh Sketches, by E. S. A. 



LLANDUDNO. 97 

prince of Wales, Llewellyn ab Gruffydd, having successfully 
carried his arms into Cheshire, King Henry III. again invaded 
Wales, advanced without opposition as far as Dyganwy, where 
his progress was again checked, and he was ultimately compelled 
to make another inglorious retreat. In 1262, the Castle of 
Dyganwy, which from its strength and situation had proved a 
post of so much importance to the English and annoyance to 
the Welsh, was taken by Llewellyn and utterly destroyed. Here 
the military records of this celebrated fortress end, as it was 
never rebuilt. Conway henceforth became the great battle-place 
of Welsh heroism and English aggression, till the tragic death of 
Llewellyn in 1282 closed the national struggle, and Wales was 
annexed to the territories of the English Crown ; her people, as 
it has been eloquently said, being now more than repaid by a 
participation in equal laws and free institutions for the loss of a 
turbulent and sanguinary independence. 

The remains of Dyganwy Castle (of which we borrow the 
description of the Rev. R. Williams) are on two small hills and 
the intervening ground. Its form was oblong, but the walls 
were very irregular, owing to the peculiarity of its site : the 
larger hill has its sides cut, so as to form a high precipice, and 
the wall was built on the edge of the summit ; the top of this 
has also been levelled, and the excavation in the centre formed 
the keep ; the wall ran down the south side across the interve- 
ning space to the summit of the second hill, about half of 
which it takes in ; it then returned, from east to west, to the 
north side of the precipice. There were two entrances, facing 
the north and south, which are easily to be observed ; the} 7 " 
were evidently strengthened by towers and advanced works, 
which the remains of their foundations still indicate. The 
moat, now dry, is visible ; and on the summit of the first hill 
are portions of the walls ; but the masses on the south are from 



98 LLANDUDNO. 

the upper part of the original wall, which, being undermined, 
was thrown down, and these lie out of the line of the founda- 
tions ; the angles were strengthened by towers of solid masonry. 
The name given at present to this castle is Castell y Vaerdrev. 
At no great distance, on the summit of a hill near Bryniau, is 
a tower which was probably an outpost of this castle. Its form 
is circular, being about twelve feet in diameter, and twenty in 
height. There are marks of two floors within, and there are 
three rows of square holes round the inside, none of which pass 
through the wall ; as about a third of the circle is open from 
top to bottom, and this opening being in the direction of the 
castle, it might be supposed that there were originally lines of 
walls, which, forming an angle, were strengthened by this tower; 
but there are no remains whatever to corroborate this conjecture. 
The wall is very thick, and the masonry is altogether different 
from what remains of the castle ; it may therefore have been 
built at the time of the first fortification of Dyganwy by Mael- 
gwyn Gwynedd. 



LLANRHOS— (EGLWYS RHOS.) 




PLEASANT walk across the fields, commanding glori- 
J ous views of the adjacent country, may be taken from 

the ancient tower last described to the Church of 
Llanrhos, which is very prettily situated about two miles from 
Llandudno, on the Conway road, at the foot of the wood-clad 
rock, Biyn Maelgwyn. The church is cruciform in shape — a 
nave with transepts ; it has an old oak roof and a carved font, 
and in its general aspect looks as if cared for by those who 
frequent its services. There is a stained-glass window of 
modern art over the communion table, with representations of 




V 



LLANRHOS CHURCH, N E. a r ILANBUDHO 



0y 



Jtfos I 




S T GEORGES CHURCH, IIAUD TJD ~S 
PublisbsdW CafbgralLfcBn^Tiara. Chester 



LLANDUDNO. 99 

a cross, the sacred dove, a death's head, and an "Agnus Dei ;" 
and into this window have been gathered the fragments of 
one which adorned the church some centuries ago, and 
which, among other subjects, included a kneeling figure, 
wearing a herald's mantle, with the arms of Englefield ; be- 
neath are the words, JfHi gjei muxttt me, and in the next 
compartment, gjootrlt anragm qui \zt. Mr. Pennant inferred 
from such portions of the maimed inscription as were legible in 
his days, that the knight represented Howel ap Tudor of 
Mostyn, who had probably given the window to the church. 
In the south transept is another painted window, the gift of the 
late Lady Mostyn Champneys of Gloddaeth, representing the 
nativity, the crucifixion, and the ascension of the Saviour, with 
figures of angels praising God, and offering the crown of thorns. 
There is also a painted window in the south wall, near the altar, 
consisting of figures of the three Christian graces : Charity in 
the centre, Faith on the left, and Hope on the right ; and 
underneath is the name of the donor, " Mary Bridget Mostyn, 
Bodysgallen, a.d. mdcccliit." On a brass tablet in the north 
wall is the following memorial : — 

" Near this place, in the Gloddaeth vault, lie the remains of 
Frances Mostyn, spinster, of Bodysgallen, who departed this 
life on the 22nd of February, 1827, aged 78 years and eight 
months. She repaired this dear little church — presented the 
painted window at the east end, and endowed the School. 

No further seek her merits to disclose, 

Or draw her frailties from their dread abode ; 

( There they alike in trembling hope repose, ) 
The bosom of her Father and her God." 

In the vaults under the south transept are interred the earthly 
remains of the ancient family of the Mostyns ; but, with the 
exception of the memorial just quoted, there is no monument 
whatever, to mark their last resting-place, or to say who sleep 

b iLofC. 



100 LLANDUDNO. 

beneath. Lord Mostyn was entombed here in 1854, and his 
sister, the Hon. Miss Mary Bridget Mostyn, in February, 1856. 
In the church are monuments of the family of Colonel Hugh 
Wynne of Bodysgallen, of whom it is here recorded, that " at 
his own expense he raised a regiment of foot for the service of 
King Charles the First, and was a great sufferer for the Royal 
cause." In the churchyard there are gravestones to the memory 
of the Pughs of Penrhyn ; and as an illustration of the univer- 
sality of death's domain, let not pride read with a " disdainful 
smile" this record of an obscure destiny: " Here lieth the body 
of Poor Betty, who for upwards of fifty years was a houseless, 
wandering maniac — died, February, 1824. There is rest in 
heaven." The most remarkable historical event connected with 
this church relates to the death of Prince Maelgwyn Gwynedd, 
whom we have lately mentioned as the founder of Dyganwy 
Castle. It is recorded of him, that remorse for the sins of his 
life had induced the penitential resolution of retiring from the 
world to the sacred seclusion of a convent ; but his faith was 
weak ; he kept not his resolution, and returned again to affairs 
of earthly state. The pestilence of "the yellow plague " at that 
time afflicted the country, and to avoid its deadly infection he 
fled for sanctuary to the altar of Llanrhos ; but his precaution 
was ineffectual, and he expired in the church, a.d. 566, accord- 
ing to the prediction of Taliesin, which being translated saith : 
" A strange creature will come from the Marsh of Rhianedd, to 
punish the crimes of Maelgwyn Gwynedd , its hair, its teeth, 
and its eyes are yellow ; if he looks at it he will die." The old 
British poets, like those of Rome, usually personified disease. 
In this instance it was to assume the fascination of a basilisk, 
under the form of a fair woman, whose glance if gazed upon 
was fatal ; and Maelgwyn having incautiously looked through a 
window, caught sight of the dreaded creature, and was thus 



LLANDUDNO. 101 

hopelessly stricken with sickness and death — as ancient bards 
do testify. Near to the church is the National School, where 
seventy children receive the benefits of useful and religious 
education. It was founded in June, 1822, and permanently 
endowed by the late Miss Frances Mostyn of Bodysgallen, 
whose memory will long be had in grateful remembrance for 
her many virtues and charities. There are two services in the 
church each Sunday — one in the English and the other in the 
Welsh language alternately, the Incumbent being the Rev. John 
Davies, M.A. 

Before leaving this place, we would advise our readers to 
ascend Bryn Maelgwyn ; the views from the summit of the hill 
command some of the most charming prospects in North Wales. 



E 




GLGDDAETH. 

T a short distance from Llanrhos stands, amidst 
sheltering woods, the mansion of Gloddaeth, one 
of the country seats of the Mostyn family. Its 
situation, on the slope of a far-stretching hill, is exceedingly 
beautiful ; it is surrounded by gardens, pleasure grounds, and 
plantations, the extensive walks and drives through which 
develope a varied series of views, combining all the characteristic 
attributes of rural loveliness and mountain grandeur. Its 
sylvan retreats offer pleasant facilities for rides and rambles 
amidst the more sequestered scenes of nature's handiwork ; and 
its terraces look out upon an amphitheatre of fertile fields and 
verdant hills, skirted by the deep blue sea on the one hand, 
and the majestic peaks of the British Alps on the other. " In 
these vernal seasons of the year," says the immortal Milton, 
" When the air is calm and pleasant, it were an injury and 



102 LLANDUDNO. 

sullenness against nature not to go out and see her riches, and 
partake in her rejoicing with heaven and earth." And surely, 
amidst scenes like these, may be pressed home upon the most 
thoughtless the query of another poet — 

! how canst thou renounce the boundless store. 

Of charms which Nature to her votaries yields '? 
The warbling woodland, the resounding shore, 

The pomp of groves, the garniture of fields ; 
All that the genial ray of morning gilds, 

And all that echoes to the song of even ; 
All that the mountain's sheltering bosom shields, 

And all the dread magnificence of heaven ? 

The woods of Gloddaeth abound in rare and curious plants, 
which will excite the interest and test the knowledge of the 
botanist. The estate came into the possession of the family 
of Sir Roger Mostyn by the marriage of his ancestor, Howe! 
ap Evan Fych'an, in 1460, with Margaret, daughter and 
heir of Gryffydd ap Rhys ap Gryffydd ap Madoc Gloddaeth ap 
Madoc ap Jerwerth Goch of Creiddyn, the hundred in which the 
house stands. The present mansion (which has lately been 
restored and renovated) was built by Sir Thomas Mostyn in the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth. The entrance hall is one of those 
spacious apartments, quaint and venerable, with open timber roof 
and antiquated fire-place, which are at once associated in the 
mind with good cheer and open-handed hospitality, and many 
and merry have been the baronial feasts which have gladdened 
the hearts of tenantry and visitors in this old house of other days. 
Among the heraldic adornments, the arms of Queen Elizabeth, 
of her lordly favourite the Earl of Leicester, and of the Mostyns, 
are all conspicuously exhibited in close juxta-position — an 
obsequious compliment of the age, no doubt, to the power and 
influence of the courtly Earl. Over the fire-place is inscribed 
an old family motto ; " Heb Dduw, heb ddim ; Duw a digen" — 



LLANDUDNO. 103 

" Without God, without everything ; God and plenty." In the 
centre of an antique emblazonment are the royal arms of Tudor, 
with the red dragon as a supporter (before the unicorn was 
adopted), surmounted by the legend, "God save our noble 
queene, Elizabeth, sende her long reigne, 1584 ;" there are two 
other compartments bearing the arms of the Mostyns with 
numerous quarterings ; above one of the shields is the motto, 
" Fear God, obey thy prince ; remember thy ende ;" and over 
the other, Auxilium meum a Domino, which latter the proprietor 
now retains. There is also some curious fresco-work in the hall. 
Gloddaeth was formerly celebrated for its store of rare books and 
manuscripts ; but these, with other literary treasures, have been 
removed to Mostyn Hall, the principal seat of the present Lord, 
who has there collected a choice and valuable library of works, 
illustrative of Welsh history and literature. Gloddaeth is now 
the country residence of Lord Mostyn's eldest son, the Hon. T. 
M. Lloyd Mostyn, M.P., who married in 1855, the Lady 
Augusta, daughter of the Earl of Abergavenny. 

At the entrance of Gaer Wood, on the top of a rock near 
the hall, are discoverable the outlines of a Maze, much larger 
than the one at Hampton Court ; and hopes are entertained 
that the Noble Lord may be induced to restore this labyrinth, 
for the amusement and exercise of the inhabitants and visitors 
of Llandudno. 



LLANDRILLO YN RHOS. 

HE drive or walk from Gloddaeth in the direction of 
Llandrillo affords further opportunities for enjoying 
i the charming scenery of this district. It leads 
through well-cultivated lands and fertile corn-fields to spots of 




104 LLANDUDNO. 

much historic interest, and views of great extent and beauty. 
Sweeping in a semi-circle from the rocks of the Little Ormes 
Head to the base of Penmaen Rhos, the sea forms a picturesque 
bay, beyond which the estuaries of the Dee and the Mersey, 
animated by ships of every size and nation, form a magnificent 
panorama ; and stretching inland from the shores the distant 
range of the Clwydian mountains bounds the landscape with 
their gracefully undulating ridges. 

At Llandrillo are the ancient ruins of Bryn Euryn, formerly 
the palace of Maelgwyn Gwynedd, before his removal to 
Dyganwy in the sixth century ; and subsequently the residence 
of Ednyfed Fychan, the celebrated general and minister of 
Llewellyn the Great. There are also traces here of early forti- 
fications, and coins and other evidences of Roman possession 
have been found. The valley to the south indeed is called 
Nant Sempyr, doubtless in remembrance of the Roman general 
Sempronius. The Church, which is prominently situated on a 
lofty hill, is an object of architectural and antiquarian interest. 
It appears from old chronicles that Ednyfed Fychan built a 
chapel here, under due license from the Pope ; and the structure 
raised by the Welsh hero formed the west half of the north 
aisle of the present church, with a small cupola at the west 
end ; this aisle was afterwards lengthened by the parishioners, 
when the Parish Church, which stood upon the shore, was 
destroyed by an irruption of the sea. The south aisle was 
added by the Ladies Conway who were descended from the 
ancient lords of the place, and were the last occupiers of the 
now ruined house of Bryn Euryn ; they also bequeathed a con- 
siderable sum of money for the erection of the present tower. 
Ptecent improvements have been made in the church, which for 
its own sake as well as its remarkably fine situation, is well 
worth a visit. The Rev. Thomas Parry, M.A., is the Vicar. 




LLANDUDNO. 105 

There are two services each Sunday ; and there is also a chapel 
of ease in the Colwyn district of this parish, where there is 
service in the Welsh and English language each Sunday. 



PENRHYN. 

"Sk ROM Llandrillo return to Llandudno by the romantic 
*" pass of Penrhyn, about two miles distant ; the road 
through the fields and along the rocky ravine, which is 
formed by the mountains on either hand, is singularly interesting 
and discloses, through its various openings, a succession of lovely 
pictures. Penrhyn was in former days a mansion of importance 
and celebrity ; but, like many other ancestral abodes of the olden 
time, it has now degenerated (we hope the term will be forgiven) 
into a comfortable farm-house, with a good homestead and capital 
orchards. It was for a long period the seat of the Pughs, who 
were descendants of the renowned Ednyfed Vychan, a stone 
carving of whose arms is upon the building. A date of 1590 
above a fire-place, indicates the time at which the later portion 
of the house was built ; but there are authentic records of a 
mansion having stood there long before that period. Leland 
mentions " Place Pehrine" as an " ancient stone house, by Est 
North Est, on the shore/' The Pughs' were attached members 
of the Church of Rome, and for many years after the Reformation 
maintained the worship of their own communion ; what was 
then the family chapel has long been desecrated as a stable, 
twenty-five long by fifteen wide ; but persons now living recollect 
the stone altar there. Some local traditions of singular interest 
exist respecting this place ; they are related after various modes 
of story -telling, but no author excels Miss Costello in narrating 
tales of love and mystery. There is, says the accomplished 



106 LLANDUDNO. 

tourist, a story told of some former inhabitants of Penrhyn 

singularly confirmed by accident not many years since. Two 

sisters and a brother possessed the house and estate, but they did 

not live in harmony, and the brother resolved therefore to change 

the scene and travel abroad ; before he set out, as he imagined 

he might be absent some years, and felt that he could not 

altogether trust his sisters to recognise his identity if time should 

have wrought much change in his then youthful appearance, he 

resolved to take some precautions which should prove his 

knowledge of the premises. His expedient was simple enough 

for it was to place a needle between one of the joists of the ceiling 

in a small kitchen, and to drive the tooth of a harrow into a pear 

tree in the orchard. He departed, and year after year passed 

away, yet he never returned : his sisters remained in possession, 

and, having little affection for him, were quite content that he 

should leave them undisturbed. At length, when they had long 

ceased to think about their brother, they were surprised one day 

by the arrival of a " wretched ragged man," who seemed entirely 

destitute, was worn and wearied, and to their consternation 

proclaimed himself the master of the mansion. They heard his 

tale with indignation, and insisted on his being an impostor ; he, 

however, called several persons to witness what he could disclose, 

and pointed out the place where the needle was rusted in the 

wood, and the bark of the pear tree had grown over the harrow 

tooth. His asseverations were nevertheless vain, and the cruel 

sisters ordered him to be ignominiously chastised and driven 

from the place. He retired to the cottage of a peasant near, who 

had no difficulty in recognising his young master, in spite of his 

altered appearance, and there he remained for a time endeavouring 

to persuade his unnatural relations to do him justice. One day 

he left the cottage, and his return was looked for in vain, nor was 

he ever seen from that moment. The sisters retained possession 



LLANDUDNO. 107 

but nothing went well with them afterwards ; the blood of their 
brother cried from the ground, and it refused to yield its crops : 
the lightning descended and destroyed their stacks, the fruit 
trees withered, and the flowers perished. They were hated and 
avoided, and no one witnessed their death. The family became 
extinct, and the estates were sold. The farmer who became 
possessor, many years after, having occasion to build a lime-kiln, 
discovered in a fissure of the rock just behind the house, which 
had been carefully filled with earth, a perfect skeleton, which was 
no doubt that of the unfortunate brother of the two murderesses. 
Another legend of Penrhyn Place is of later date. The family 
of Pugh, who then possessed it, were Roman Catholics ; in their 
establishment was a priest, named William Guy, who was a 
gloomy and bigoted man ; and, preyed upon by his religious 
enthusiasm, he entered into a plan with others to exterminate 
all the Protestants in the parish of Creiddyn, which includes all 
the district to the east of Conway between the river and the 
sea. He carried on his machinations as secretly as possible, and 
it was agreed that a large body of men should meet at Penrhyn 
in the dead of the night, and, headed by the priest, should sally 
forth and commence their work of slaughter on their unsuspecting 
neighbours. A man servant belonging to the family at Gloddaeth, 
not far distant, was attached to a young girl in the service of 
Penrhyn, and came secretly to visit her while preparations were 
going on for the reception of the band of assassins who had been 
gained by the priest. A quantity of provisions was laid in, and 
much bustle had been observed by him in the house. The 
lover easily persuaded the young girl to tell him her suspicions ; 
and finding that some extensive plot was on foot, he hastened 
home and informed his masters of the fact. An application was 
immediately made to the military in the vicinity, a troop of 
horse procured, and Penrhyn Place was invested. The conspirators 



108 LLANDUDNO. 

had, however, become alarmed, and none of them were discovered. 
Guy himself was missing and could not be traced ; for he had 
chosen for his hiding place a dismal cavern, ninety feet below 
the summit of the steep rock called Rhiwleden. Here he 
remained concealed for some time, till one day, as the searchers 
were hovering on the coast in a boat, they observed a light 
smoke issuing from the cave. With great difficulty, for it was 
nearly inaccessible, they gained the spot, and there they found 
the priest in his lair. He was executed in a field below the rock, 
for his guilt was clearly proved ; and the arms intended to be 
used for the massacre were discovered in a cave which 
communicated with the house. Some years after this, the family 
deserted the unlucky mansion, and on examining the few articles 
left behind, the neighbours found an old chest, which, on being 
opened, disclosed a withered hand, supposed to have belonged to 
the priest Guy. 

Having thus beguiled the way with these local traditions, we 
emerge from the mountain gorge, pass the pleasant residence 
and well-cultivated farm of Bodafon, whence there is a beautiful 
view of the sea and the intervening landscape, and again descend 
by the Conway road into the town of Llandudno — one of the 
most charming rides or rambles which can possibly be enjoyed 
within so short a distance. 



LITTLE ORMES HEAD. 

NOTHER delightful excursion of a few miles may be 
made by those who like to combine a pleasant row or 
sail with a rural walk, if a boat be taken to the Little 
Ormes Head, the rocks of which are remarkably interesting and 
romantic. In the projecting part of this notable promontory 




LLANDUDNO. 109 

there is a singular cavern, known by the natives as Ogo 
Cythraeliad, " The DeviVs Cave" which is accessible only by 
w r ater. The naturally arched entrance, even on a near approach, 
seems too low to admit the ingress of a boat and crew ; and so 
strong is this conviction, that we have known parties when 
within a comparatively short distance refuse to proceed through 
the chasm ; but there is head room enough at a proper state of 
the tide to ride safely into the cave, which forms a lofty hall in 
the natural rock, lighted and ventilated from an aperture at a 
considerable height, with a convenient landing-place to enjoy the 
examination of this marine apartment, which seems to have been 
excavated by the hand of nature for the resort or protection of 
those ancient mariners who ploughed the seas when the science 
of navigation was in its infancy. Further on in the sea-worn 
precipices of this massive rock is another remarkable cavern, 
called Eglwys Wen, or " The White Church" whose romantic 
beauty, with a calm sea and sunny weather, will not fail to 
interest and impress the visitor. Bounding the head, we reach 
the old weir of Khos Fynach, the Marsh of the Monks, off which 
large supplies of fine fish are taken, and have been so, no doubt, 
from time immemorial ; for, according to old chronicles of the 
reign of Queen Elizabeth, an exclusive grant of these fisheries was 
thought worth obtaining from the Earl of Leicester by an ancestor 
of the present proprietor. Near the weir is Capel Trillo, or St. 
Trillo's Chapel, a small edifice, enclosing a well of water, where 
the pious doubtless assembled in former days to " drink and pray" 
as at the " blessed spring" whence the dying thirst of Marmion 

was slaked — 

" A little fountain-cell 

Where water, clear as diamond spark, 
In a stone- basin fell, 
And above which — 

;! some half- worn letters say, 

Drink, weary pilgrim, drink and pray. 



110 LLANDUDNO. 

A landing may be pleasantly effected off Llangystenin, where 
there is another ancient Church containing many curious relics 
and fragments to excite the interest of the archaeologist ; and the 
scenery is exceedingly beautiful. The walk may be extended at 
pleasure, and within a convenient distance to Llandrillo and 
Bryn Euryn (whence Pwll-y-Crochon, the pleasant mansion of 
the Dowager Lady Erskine, with its picturesque slopes, will be 
noticed,) and through Penrhyn Pass to the eastern point of 
Llandudno Bay under Bryn-y-bia, where the boat may be in 
waiting for a row homewards ; or, if preferred, a stroll along the 
beach will complete a most delightful excursion. 



RIDES AND RAMBLES. 

ND now that we are upon the subject of excursions, it 
may be useful and desirable that we should intimate 
to visitors where, how, and upon what terms, the 
means of locomotion are obtainable. In the first place then, 
comfortable cars, phsetons, and carriages, " with good horses and 
steady drivers," may be had on application at all the principal 
hotels ; and ponies, mules, and donkeys may be hired at their 
appointed stands at Tynyrhwylfa and Tynypwll field. Bye-laws 
for the proper regulation of " Hackney coaches, horses and 
donkeys for hire," have been adopted under the provisions of the 
Llandudno Improvement Act, by which the following fares have 
been prescribed : — 

FAKES FOR HACKNEY COACHES, 

OR OTHER CARRIAGES, OR FLYS, DRAWN BY HORSES OR MULES. 

FAKES FOR TIME. 

TO COMMENCE FROM THE TIME OF LEAVING THE STAND. 

1st Class, 2nd Class. 3rd Class 

s. D. S. D. S. D- 

For every half-hour, or any less time . L 1 ( ' 




LLANDUDNO- 111 

FARES FOR DISTANCE, 

For any distance not exceeding half a mile, includ- 
ing the distance from the stand or place from 
whence the coach, carriage, or fly shall be 
called, to the place where the fare shall be 
taken up 1 9 <> 

The Classes are thus defined : — 

The hackney coaches, or other carriages, and flys, of the 
undermentioned classes, shall, if required, carry the following 
number of persons, Two children under the age of seven years 
to be considered as one person. 

First Class. — Coaches, or other full size carriages, drawn by 
two horses, shall, if required, carry four persons inside, and one 
on the box (exclusive of the driver), except chariots, which shall, 
if required, carry three inside, and one on the box (exclusive of 
the driver.) 

Second Class. — Coaches, or other full-size carriages, or flys 
drawn by one horse, shall, if required, cany four persons 
(exclusive of the driver.) 

Third Class. — Small chaises, or other carriages, or flys, 
drawn by one or more pony or ponies, mule or mules, shall, if 
required, carry two persons (exclusive of the driver). 

The usual regulations for preventing extortion, and securing 
as far as practicable, both regularity and civility, are also included 
in the bye-laws, by which the fair claims of the proprietors and 
drivers are likewise protected. 

DISTANCE FROM LLANDUDNO. 

Miles.) Miles. 

Aber (by Conway) 13 j Llandulas 13 

Abergele 16 j Lanberis 40 

Bangor 18£ ! Llansaintffraid 6 

Beaumaris 21 Llanrhos 2 

Bettys-y-coed ) 9 j Llangystenin 4 

Bethesda 19 i Llandrillo 3 

Bodafon 2 i Men ai Bridge 18 

Carnarvon 26 j Mochdrai 4 

Colwyn 9 Pwllycrochon 5 

Capel Curig 21 Bhiwleden 2 

Conway 4 i Tywyn 2f 

Gloddaeth .' . 3 St. Tudno's Church , . ] 

Llanrwst 16 



1 12 LLANDUDNO. 

The drive from Llandudno to Conway, a distance of four 
miles, is remarkably picturesque and interesting ; the road 
winds through the village of Llanrhos, at the foot of Maelgwyn, 
close past the Church, developing, as you proceed, rural prospects 
of the woods of Gloddaeth and Bodysgallen on the one hand, 
and a finely diversified panorama on the other. Rising the 
hill from Llanrhos, the gables of the beautifully situated 
mansion of Bodysgallen are seen rising over the trees of the 
surrounding plantations, which adorn its pleasure grounds, and 
clothe the adjacent rocks with their cheerful greenery. Here 
was an ancient residence (some remains of which still exist) 
of Caswallon, sovereign of North Wales during the fifth century ; 
the present house has been built at different periods, and is now 
a most comfortable and commodious dwelling. In the time of 
Henry VIII. it was in the possession of Richard Mostyn, whose 
only daughter was married to Hugh, son of Grufiydd Wynne of 
Berthdu ; their heir, Robert, was the father of the celebrated 
Colonel Wynne, who was so distinguished for his loyal attach- 
ment to the cause of Charles the First In 1762 the male line 
ended ; the estates passed to Margaret, daughter of Dr. Hugh 
Wynne ; and by her marriage with Sir Roger Mostyn, Bart., 
of Gloddaeth, Bodysgallen became the property of the latter 
family. The last of the Wynnes is memorable in Welsh annals 
for his extensive hospitalities at Christmas ; his bills of fare on 
such occasions being preserved and set forth with all the 
circumstantiality of a London alderman's feast in the records of 
the period. 

Beyond Bodysgallen, in a charming situation under a lofty 
rock, is the mansion of Marl, a place of some celebrity in former 
times, but now unoccupied. It was reduced to a ruinous 
condition by a fire which arose from negligence in airing books. 
The Marl estate is the property of Colonel Williams, of 
Craig-y-don. 



LLANDUDNO. 



113 



Descending the hill, the road winds round to the left and rims 
along the shore of the river, whence exceedingly romantic and 
lovely views of the ancient Castle and Town of Conway are 
obtainable. On reaching the embankment, the road turns 
abruptly to the right, and conducts you over the estuary by an 
elegant suspension Bridge, beneath the towers of the Castle, 
into the interesting town of Conwav. 




CONWAY. 




HE approach from the eastern side into Conway — or 
s^f in Welsh topography Aberconwy — was formerly by 
means of a ferry, which at low water was exceedingly 
inconvenient, and at full tide rather formidable, from the 
rapidity of the current over a width of more than half a mile. 
Many anecdotes of the fatal perils of this passage are extant ; 



114 LLANDUDNO. 

among which we may mention that on Christmas Day, 1806, 
the boat carrying the Irish mail-coach was capsized during a 
heavy swell, and thirteen persons were drowned. It was always 
regarded as an uncomfortable, and very often as a dangerous 
passage ; in his burlesque " Voyage to Ireland" Charles Cotton, 
a poet of the seventeenth century, describing his tour through 
Wales with the broad humour which was then very popular, 



" Thus in places of danger taking more heed, 

And in safer travelling mending our speed : 

Eedland Castle and Abergoney we past, 

And o'er against Connoway came at the last : 

Just over against a Castle there stood, 

O'th right hand the town, and o'th left hand a wood ; 

'Twixt the wood and the Castle, they see at high water 

The storm, the place makes it a dangerous matter ; 

And besides, upon such a steep rock it is founded, 

As would break a man's neck, should he 'scape being drowned : 

Perhaps though in time one may make them to yield, 

But 'tis pretti'st Cob-castle e'er I beheld. 

The sun now was going t'unharness his steeds, 

When the ferry-boat brasking her sides 'gainst the weeds, 

Came in as good time as good time could be, 

To give us a cast o'er an arm of the sea ; 

When scurvily landing at foot of the fort, 

Within very few paces we entered the port, 

Where another ' King's Head' invited me down, — 

For indeed I have ever been true to the crown." 

The necessity of improving the means of communication be- 
tween England and Ireland having become apparent to the 
Government, it was determined to form a better road along the 
coast, which involved also the construction of a chain bridge 
over the Conway by the celebrated engineer, Mr. Telford. It 
was begun in the year 1822, and finished in 1826. Its width, 
measured between the centres of the supporting towers which 
are made to harmonise with those of the Castle, is 327 feet. 
The road-way is made of layers of plank, affixed by vertical 



LLANDUDNO, 115 

bars to two sets of suspending chains, each of which "contains 
four chains, and each chain five bars ; the chains are extended 
from the towers over the road-way, and are fastened into the 
rock under the Castle on one side, and deep into an insulated 
rock on the other side of the channel- The embankment across 
the sands is 2013 feet long, and is constructed of mountain 
clay faced with loose stones, which have formed a firm barrier 
against the violence of winds and waves. The cost of the 
Bridge, according to a Parliamentary return, was £58,001 14s. 5d. 
It is a noble specimen of mechanical genius ; and the admirable 
taste with which it has been made to form so appropriate and 
characteristic an approach to the Castle, (having all the effect of 
a vast drawbridge to the fortress) is universally commended. 

Conway, with its glorious castle, its ancient walls, and ruined 
fortifications, is the most romantic and interesting town of the 
Principality, and a most quaintly suggestive example of a 
mediaeval military station. No wonder, then, that it is a place 
of great attraction to tourists ; and that an examination of its 
unique peculiarities should often engage the attention of our 
learned societies. Accordingly, in the month of August, 1849, 
the British Archaeological Association, which was then holding 
a Congress at Chester, made an excursion to Conway, for the 
purpose of exploring its singular antiquities. On that occasion 
a lecture on the History of Conway Castle was delivered by Mr. 
John Hicklin of Chester, within the picturesque ruins of that 
ancient building. A great degree of interest was excited ; and 
many gentlemen of eminence in the various departments of 
archaeology, general literature and science, expressed their high 
gratification at the pleasure and information which they had 
derived from the delightful excursion. The proceedings were 
fully published under the direction of the British Association ; 
but as the report has for some time been out of print, and its 



116 LLANDUDNO. 

re-production has been requested by many influential parties, 
we take this opportunity of presenting an abstract to our 
readers. 

CONWAY CASTLE. 

Mr. Hicklin commenced by observing in the words of an 
accomplished tourist — It is not merely the curious sight-seeing 
propensity, that faculty so rife in all travellers, that is to be 
gratified in the examination of Conway Castle. There is the 
rich and comprehensive faculty of mental reflection to be brought 
into exercise upon such an interesting object : there is the 
philosophy of history traced in deep lines upon its mouldering 
ruins. This Castle was reared at the distant era of the 
Crusades. Its peculiar Moorish architecture attests that its 
type belongs to eastern lands, and we know that its erection 
followed close upon the return of its founder, who had led the 
hosts of England from their homes to essay the recovery of the 
holy sepulchre from the hand of the Saracen, in that strange 
war of mingled superstition and religious enthusiasm. Its 
history spreads over a series of events, and a space of time that 
comprehends the most important facts which belong to European 
society, and includes those changes in the condition of the 
human family which reach from a state of abject slavery and 
social barbarism to that of personal freedom and national re- 
finement. The transition state had been long and cruel : but 
to look upon these mysterious ruins in a suitable state of mind, 
is to read the page of history at a glance. In nature (says Mr. 
Roscoe, describing his visit) all things continued as from the 
beginning ; but a momentous change had passed over this work 
of man's device. High over head shone the polar star in its 
pristine brilliancy. The planet Mars was completing in radiant 
beauty his transit, as when, at the creation, he rolled upon his 
sphere, amidst the song of the morning stars ; the mighty 
ocean was setting in with his murmuring tide, just the same as 
when at first he received that law which his dark waters have 
never since ceased to obey. All these features of nature re- 
mained perfect and unaltered, but the hands that had wrought 
the strong masonry of that fabric ; the chivalric array that had 
passed and re-passed those massy gates, " clad in burning 
arms ;" the warlike bands that had thronged those broad battle- 
ments in the day of conflict ; the noisy burghers that had raised 




2 ,& 

O >d 



LLANDUDNO. 117 

tumults in the city when their civil rights were restricted, or 
their purses mulcted by feudal despotism or regal extravagance, 
had all " passed away to be no more seen." 

And in the same spirit a modern poet has the following- 
reference to an ancient ruin— in an imaginary conversation 
between a sage and two spectators ; the one of whom is a com- 
mon-place gazer, and the other an intelligent observer. 
Sage. — What seest thou? 

First Spectator. — A pile decayed, 
Bricks in cunning fashion laid, 
Ruined buttress, moss-clad stone, 
Arch with ivy overgrown, 
Stairs round which the lichens creep — 
The whole a desolated heap ! 

Sage. — What seest thou ? 

Second Spectator. — Memorial of olden time, 
Telling of the feudal prime 
And the glorious pageantry, 
Waking heart and kindling eye, 
And the deep and solemn lore 
Learned by hearts that beat no more, 
Vows of faith and high emprise, 
Knightly valour, love-lit eyes ; 
Woman's whisper, trumpet's breath, 
Noble daring, valiant death ; — 
More than history can give 
With these ruined towers doth live ! 

The Sage — Thus it is that vacant air 
Mind informs with visions fair. 

After some suggestive observations in illustration of this position, 
Mr. Hicklin proceeded to quote, with comments, the following 
passage from that remarkable work, " The Seven Lamps of 
Architecture." It is as the centralisation and protectress of the 
sacred influence of memory, that Architecture is to be regarded 
by us with the most serious thought. We may live without her, 
and worship without her, but we cannot remember without her. 
How cold is all history, how lifeless all imagery, compared to 
that which the living nation writes, and the uncorrupted marble 
bears ? how many pages of doubtful record might we not often 
spare, for a few stones left one upon another ? The ambition 
of the old Babel builders was well directed for this world : there 
are but two strong conquerors of the forgetfulness of men, 
Poetry and Architecture ; and the latter in some sort includes 
the former, and is mightier in its reality ; it is well to have, not 



118 LLANDUDNO. 

only what men have thought and felt, but what their hands 
have handled, and their strength wrought, and their eyes 
beheld, all the days of their life. The age of Homer is sur- 
rounded with darkness, his very personality with doubt. Not 
so that of Pericles : and the day is coming when we shall 
confess, that we have learned more of Greece out of the 
crumbled fragments of her sculpture than even from her sweet 
singers or soldier historians. And if indeed there be any 
profit in our knowledge of the past, or any joy in the thought 
of being remembered hereafter, which can give strength to 
present exertion, or patience to present endurance, there are 
two duties respecting national architecture whose importance it 
is impossible to overrate : the first, to render the architecture of 
the day historical ; and, the second, to preserve, as the most 
precious of inheritance, that of past ages. * * * * 
For, indeed, the greatest glory of a building is not in its stones, 
nor in its gold. Its glory is in its age, and in that deep sense 
of voicefulness, of stern watching, of mysterious sympathy, 
nay, even of approval or condemnation, which we feel in walls 
that have long been washed by the passing waves of humanity. 
It is in their lasting witness against men, in their quiet contrast 
with the transitional character of all things, in the strength 
which, through the lapse of seasons and times, and the decline 
and birth of dynasties, and the changing of the face of the 
earth, and of the limits of the sea, maintains its sculptured 
shapeliness for a time insuperable, connects forgotten and fol- 
lowing ages with each other, and constitutes the identity, as it 
concentrates the sympathy of nations — it is in that golden stain 
of time that we are to look for the real light, and colour, and 
preciousness of Architecture ; and it is not until a building has 
assumed this character, till it has been entrusted with the fame, 
and hallowed by the deeds of men ; till its walls have been 
witnesses of suffering, and its pillars rise out of the shadows of 
death, that its existence, more lasting as it is than that of the 
natural objects of the world around it, can be gifted with even 
so much as these possess of language and of life. (Cheers.) 

The speculations of the antiquarian, and the records of our 
old chroniclers, supply us with much interesting information 
respecting that early period, which stretches so far back into 
the mist of ages, that the search for truth " craves wary walk- 
ing." It is abundantly clear, however, both from published 
documents and existing remains, that the locality in which we 



LLANDUDNO. 119 

are now assembled has been remarkable for many transactions 
of importance during the possession of this country by those 
ancient masters of the world, the Romans ; the wars of the 
Saxons ; the incursions of the Danes ; and the disturbed 
reigns of the native Princes, Sovereigns of the Principality. 
Our business, however, on the present occasion, is more espe- 
cially with the history of that castle, amidst whose majestic 
ruins we are now assembled. 

In his elaborate work on Architectural Antiquities, Mr. 
Britton remarks, that " under the Edwards some considerable 
changes were introduced into architecture ; and the first Monarch 
of that name certainly cultivated the arts and elegancies of life, 
as may be fairly inferred from the crosses, and ecclesiastical 
structures erected by his commands." " At length," says Mr. 
King, in Vol. VI. of the Archseologia, ct came the grand and 
noble piles of Edward the First, manifestly derived from the 
opportunity of seeing, during the Crusades, the various refine- 
ments and improvements in foreign countries ; when at length 
the idea of the castle was nearly swallowed up in that of the 
palace. Edward the Third completed the idea of the palace, 
and that of the mere castle began to be lost." 

Having resolved to complete the subjugation of Wales to the 
English Crown, Edward the First was naturally anxious to 
strengthen his power in those places of security where he could 
best support his authority, by curbing the pride of the Barons, 
who might attempt to thwart his schemes, and by suppressing 
the revolts of his discontented subjects. Independently of the 
romantic and picturesque scenery by which the rock of Conway 
is surrounded, its situation afforded a most advantageous post 
from which its defenders might observe the slightest indication 
of any hostile movement ; the passes might easily be rendered 
perfectly inaccessible ; and unless treachery was in the garrison, 
the fortress might be considered impregnable before the use of 
artillery. We may readily conceive the burning feelings of 
vexation and despair, with which the friends of Welsh inde- 
pendence would contemplate the building of this towering fabric 
of English pomp and power ; from whose battlements the 
meteor flag of England would then seem to them as an odious 
trophy of triumphant oppression ; and this strong feeling of 
national resentment would derive increased bitterness from the 
recent slaughter of their intrepid Chieftain Llewellyn, whose 
head the victorious King had received as a welcome gift in the 



120 LLANDUDNO. 

Abbey of Conway ; as well as from the fact, in distrust of the 
holy fathers of that Monastery, which had been founded by an 
ancestor of the slain Prince, Edward had given orders for their 
removal to a new foundation at Maenan, near Llanrwst. The 
Castle of Conway was completed in 1^4, under the personal 
inspection and direction of King Edward ; and Henry de El- 
re ton, the builder of Carnarvon Castle, was the architect em- 
ployed. There were giants in the earth in those days, for the 
grandeur and magnificence of this structure both as to design 
and effect cannot be too warmly admired. " Si monumentum 
queris, circumspice." (Cheers.) 

After size and w T eight, says an able writer, " the power of 
Architecture may be said to depend upon the quantity of its 
shadow ; and it seems to me that the reality of its works, and 
the use and influence they have in the daily life of men, as op- 
posed to those works of art, with which we have nothing to do 
but in times of rest or pleasure, require that it should express 
a kind of human sympathy by a measure of darkness as great 
as there is in human life ; and that as the great poem and great 
fiction generally affect us most by the majesty of their masses of 
shade, and cannot take hold upon us if they affect a continu- 
ance of lyric sprightliness, but must be serious often, and some- 
times melancholy, else they do not express the truth of this 
wide world of ours, so there must be in this magnificent human 
art of architecture some equivalent expressions for the trouble 
and wrath of life ; for its sorrow and its mystery ; and this it 
can only give by depth or diffusion of gloom, by the frown upon 
its front and the shadow of its recess. So that Rembrandtism 
is a noble manner in architecture, though a false one in paint- 
ing. But since the thirteenth century, we have built like frogs 
and mice, except only in our castles (and perhaps Mr. Stephen- 
son would add, in our railroads). Until our street architecture 
is bettered, until we give it some size and boldness, until we 
give our windows recess and our walls thickness, I know not 
how we can blame our architects for their feebleness in more 
important work ; their eyes are inured to narrowness and slight- 
ness ; can we expect them, at a word, to conceive and deal with 
breadth and solidity ? They ought not to live in our cities ; 
there is that in their miserable walls which bricks up to death 
men's imaginations, as surely as ever perished forsworn Nun. 
An architect should live in cities as little as a painter. Send 
him to our hills, and let him study there what Nature under- 



LLANDUDNO. 121 

stands by a buttress and what by a dome. There was some- 
thing in the old power of architecture which it had from the 
recluse more than from the citizen. We have sources of power 
in the imagery of iron coasts and azure hills ; of power more 
pure, nor less serene, than that of the hermit spirit which onca 
lighted with white lines of cloisters the glades of the Alpine 
pine, and raised into ordered spires the wild rocks of the Norman 
Sea ; which gave to the temple gate the depth and darkness of 
Elijah's Horeb Cave; and lifted out of the populous city, grey 
cliffs of lonely stone into the midst of sailing birds and silent 
air." (Cheers.) 

After an apology for his lack of architectural knowledge, Mr. 
Hicklin proceeded to describe the Castle. Its form is oblong, 
and it is erected on a high rock at one corner of the triangle 
which encloses the town. One side is bounded by the river, 
another by a creek which is full of water at every tide, and into 
which the river Gyffin flows ; the other two sides are within the 
town walls. On the outside eight massive and enormous towers, 
forty feet in diameter, project ; four on each side; and there was 
a winding staircase to the summit in a smaller tower contained 
in each, which in the four nearest the river issues out to the 
height of several feet, and form an exceedingly beautiful addi- 
tion. The summit of these commands an extensive view of the 
adjacent country. The walls and towers are embattled, and vary 
from twelve to fifteen feet in thickness. The principal entrance 
was from the town at the west end by a drawbridge over a very 
deep moat ; this leads by the ascent of a few steps to a spacious 
terrace, protected by five small towers, and intervening walls ; 
thence through a gateway defended by a portcullis, to the larger 
court. This contains on the south side the noble hall, which is 
130 feet long, 32 wide, and of a proportionate height, about 30 
feet ; out of this was partitioned off, at the east end, a chapel 
with a large window. The roof was supported by eight fine 
Gothic arches, four of which still remain ; one fell about forty- 
four years ago ; it was warmed by a great fire-place at one end, 
and two others, one on each side ; there are six windows to the 
country, and three larger ones to the court ; underneath were 
the spacious vaults which contained the ammunition for the use 
of the garrison ; and also the cellars for provisions. At the east 
end of this court is the reservoir, 15 feet in diameter and 20 
deep ; the water which supplied it is traditionally reported to 
have been conveyed in pipes from a well above Ty gwyn. It 



122 LLANDUDNO 

has been said that portions of pipes have been met with, « I 
ploughing fields in that neighbourhood ; and tradition also 
records that the enemy by discovering these pipes, at one time 
forced the garrison to surrender ; this reservoir has two aper- 
tures on the south side, by which the water was admitted ; and 
opposite there is now to be seen a stone pipe which conveyed 
the water into the moat, when it rose too high The entrance 
into the inner court is by a passage through a strong wall, ten 
feet and a half in thickness, which on the outside has a senti- 
nel's lodge, who could see through a loop hole every one coming 
from the chief entrance. On the right in this court is one oi 
the state rooms, 29 feet by 22 ; a beautiful arch which supported 
the roof remains perfect, a second has long ago been destroyed ; 
the windows look into the court. Between this room and twr y 
brenin, or the King's tower, was the King's chamber, which 
communicated with that of the Queen on the opposite side ; the 
north tower is called twr y vrenines, the Queen's tower ; and the 
room on the first story contains a recess taken out of the wall, 
which is the only place with any appearance of ornament in the 
Castle ; it is formed by seven pointed and groined arches 
uniting with each other at the roof, and under them are more 
arches, with a basement all round. This recess, which with 
the adjoining room, was the Queen's private Chapel, contained 
the altar table, and on both sides are small apertures communi- 
cating with two apartments. That such was the use of this 
place is corroborated by the circumstance, that this is the only 
room in any of the towers above the ground floor, which does 
not contain a fire-place. The diameter of the inside of the 
towers is about 18 feet; these consist generally of two stories, 
with the ground floor, which was chiefly used for keeping stores. 
The King's tower has a strong room below, which was acces- 
sible only by a trap door ; but the keep, or twr y carcharorion is 
the second on the south side, adjoining the hall, from which 
there is a passage through it to the top of the walls : on the east 
side there is another terrace, protected by three towers and walls, 
where there was a second entrance to the Castle ; this was from 
the river, by ascending a steep rock, where once had been a 
narrow flight of winding stairs, protected by a wall, with a 
small covered hanging tower, which went a considerable way 
into the river, and had another round tower at its extremity to 
prevent the approach of an enemy at ebb tide : the portion in 
the river had been for a long period destroyed, but the narrow 



LLANDUDNO. 123 

wall with the hanging tower, as far as the terrace, was taken 
down, when making the approach to the bridge. The next 
tower to the King's, twr darn, or the broken tower, presents a 
very picturesque ruin ; the avarice, it is said, of some of the 
inhabitants led them to excavate the rock at its base, which 
occasioned a vast fragment of the tower to fall ; the upper half 
remains perfect, suspended at a great height, and projecting 
nearly thirty feet over the walls below. (Mr. Hicklin indicated 
in passing, the position of the parts described, and controverted 
the opinion of Mr. Pennant, who supposed the Eoyal Chapel to 
have been a boudoir.) The walls which surround the town 
were built at the same time as the Castle, and are nearly trian 
gular ; a form evidently prescribed by the situation ; the walls 
which remain almost entire are very lofty and embattled : in the 
circuit of about a mile and a quarter there are twenty-one strong 
towers, rising considerably above the walls, besides three 
entrances to the town, with two stronger towers to each. The 
base of the triangle runs along the river, and in it are seven 
towers with a gateway called Forth isav, or the lower gate : 
between this and the Castle there is also a portal in the wall, 
called Forth bach, but without towers ; from the northern extre- 
mity of the base a curtain with battlements on each side, runs 
nearly seventy yards into the river, which had at its extremity 
a large tower, long since destroyed, but the ruins are visible 
This corresponded with a similar tower under the Castle : the 
gateway through the curtain is called Forth yr aden. A second 
entrance into the town was from the country side, nearly oppo- 
site to Forth isav ; it is called Forth uchav, or the upper gate, 
and it was furnished with a drawbridge ; the third is on the 
south side, and led to the velin heli, or salt-water mill ; it is 
called Forth y velin, or the gate of the mill. Except on the 
river side the whole town was surrounded by a deep and wide 
moat. One of the towers on the south has a wall built on the 
town side, and contained some spacious apartments : it is called 
Twr Llewellyn. 

(Here the lecturer introduced some remarks on the import- 
ance of having a muringer to protect such structures from 
dilapidation, and made an animated appeal to his auditors on 
the duty of preserving national illustrations of former ages.) 

Edward made Conway a strong military station, and granted 
the town a Charter as a free borough securing to it considerable 
privileges ; a condition being annexed with which we suppose 



124 



LLANDUDNO. 



the good citizens of London, in their present humour, would be 
especially angry, " That the Jews dwell not at any time in the 
same borough." (Laughter and Applause.) 

In 1290, the Welsh were again in arms against the authority 
of Edward, under the leadership of Madoc, a son of Prince 
Llywellyn, and descendant of that Madoc whom Southey cele- 
brates as the intrepid hero who 

" From the shores of Britain spread 
The adventurous sail, explored the ocean paths, 
And quelled barharic power, and overthrew 
The bloody altars of idolatry, 
And planted in its fanes triumphantly 
The Cross of Christ." 

The revolt arose from what our modern statesmen would call an 
"ignorant impatience of taxation," To defray the expenses of 
a war against France, Edward levied subsidies upon his newly 
conquered subjects of Wales, who rose in rebellion, hanged 
Roger de Pulesdon, who had been appointed to collect the tax, 
and routed the English troops. Alarmed at these hostile indi- 
cations, the king marched into North Wales to vindicate his 
sovereignty. Having reached the Conway, he crossed that 
estuary with his guards, and retiring into the Castle waited for 
the remainder of his army to follow. In his passage, he lost 
many of his baggage and store waggons, which had been inter- 
cepted by the Welsh, who poured down in great force from 
the mountains and invested the Castle. A sudden rise in the 
river at the same time prevented his troops from crossing, and 
thus beleagured, the royal garrison was reduced to such straits, 
that the monarch, in common with his soldiers, was obliged to 
eat salted meat with the coarse bread found in the Castle, and 
to use water mixed with honey as his drink. At the last ex- 
tremity however, the river suddenly subsided, his troops were 
enabled to cross to his relief, the Welsh raised the siege, and 
ultimately dispersed among the mountains of Snowdon. The 
festival of Christmas was afterwards enjoyed at Conway Castle, 
without let or hindrance, by the Warrior King, his Queen, and 
a brilliant Court. And those were rare old times for feasting. 
From the first introduction of Christianity, the period of the 
Nativity seems to have been kept as a season of festival, and 
its observance required as a matter of state. The series of high 
festivities established by the Anglo-Saxon Kings, appear to have 
been continued with yearly increasing splendour and multiplied 



LLANDUDNO. 125 

ceremonies under the monarchs of the Norman race. From 
the Court, the spirit of rivalry descended, by all its thousand 
arteries, throughout the universal frame of society. The pomp 
and ceremonial of the royal observance were imitated in the 
splendid establishments of the more wealthy nobles, and were 
more faintly reflected from the diminished state of the petty 
Baron. The revelries of the baronial castle found echoes in 
the hall of the old manor house — and were again repeated in 
the tapestried chamber of the country Magistrate, or from the 
sanded parlour of the village inn. Merriment was everywhere 
a matter of public concernment. And in those right royal 
celebrations, 

" They served up salmon, venison, and wild boars 
By hundreds, and by dozens, and by scores ; 

Hogsheads of honey, kilderkins of mustard, 
Muttons and fatted beeves, and bacon swine : 

Herons and bitterns, peacocks, swan and bustard, 
Teal, mallard, pigeons, widgeons, and in fine, 

Plum-puddings, pancakes, apple-pies, and custard. 
And therewithal they drank good Gascon wine, 
With mead, and ale, and cider of our own, 
For porter, punch, and negus were not known." (Cheers.) 

" Oh the mad days that I have spent," says old Justice 
Shallow,- " and to see how many of mine old acquaintances are 
dead !" Yet still, as a popular author says, we love those 
Christmas commemorations — still like to drain 

" One draught in memory of many 
A joyous banquet past." 

The revels of merry England are fast subsiding into silence, 
and her many customs wearing gradually away. That social 
change which has enlarged towns at the expense of the country — 
which thins the numbers of the yeomanry of England, and 
draws the estated gentleman from the shelter of his ancestral 
oaks, to live upon their produce in the haunts of dissipation, 
has been unfavourable to the existence of many of them which 
delight in bye-ways and sheltered places ; which had their 
appropriate homes in the old manor-house or the baronial hall. 
But they pass lingeringly away. There is something in the 
mind of man which attaches him to ancient superstitions, even 
for the sake of their antiquity, and endears to him old traditions 
even because they are old. We cannot readily shake off our rever- 
ence for that which our fathers have reverenced so long, even 
where the causes in which that reverence originated are not very 



12() LLANDUDNO. 

obvious, or not very satisfactory. Right joyous festivals there 
have been amongst us which England will be none the merrier 
— and kindly ones, propagating a feeling of brotherhood and 
benevolence, which she will be none the better — for losing.* 
(Cheers.) 

In 1301, the first English Prince of Wales, Edward of Car- 
narvon, held a Court at Conway, where Eineon, Bishop of 
Bangor, and David, Abbot of Maenan, did homage, and on 
ascending the throne he granted certain privileges to the bur- 
gesses. In 1399 Conway was the scene of a memorable 
transaction in the reign of the hapless monarch Bichard the 
Second. This event has been described with considerable 
minuteness in an original manuscript which is preserved in the 
Harleian Collection at the British Museum, under the title of 
" An account of the treachery of the Earl of Northumberland 
and the taking of his Majesty Richard the Second ; his progress 
from Conway to Rhuddlan, Flint, and Chester, by an Eye- 
witness." Mr. Hicklin stated that a copy of this manuscript 
had been very kindly lent to him by his friend Mr. Edward 
Parry, who had procured it for insertion in his forthcoming 
publication of " Royal Visits to North Wales," under the 
impression that it had not yet been published. In reading, 
however, for the purposes of the present lecture he (Mr. Hicklin) 
had found that the Rev. John Webb inserted it in the twentieth 
volume of the Archaeologia in 1824 ; and Mr. Charles Knight 
has included the substance of it in his " Half-Hours with the 
Best Authors." In this narrative, which is originally written in 
a sort of a doggrel metre, then very common, the author, who 
was a French Knight, personally attached to and officially in 
attendance upon King Richard, we have statements of the 
manner in which the monarch received the disastrous news that 
England was in a state of revolt, how his face turned pale 
thereat — for they could turn pale it seems in those times — his 
anxiety and distress, and his hurried return to Milford Haven. 

" But before he landed," says the Chronicler, " a great army 
which had gathered in Wales for his service was either disbanded 
or won over to Bolingbroke. In his great fear he disguised 
himself like a poor Franciscan friar, and set out at midnight 
from his host attended by only a few persons, of whom our 
Frenchman was one. He travelled hard all night, and reached 
Conway by break of day. There he learned that his enemies 

* The Book of Christmas. 



LLANDUDNO. 127 

had reported him to be dead, and that well-nigh all was already 
lost. He uttered many pious ejaculations ; but he knew not 
what course to take. At length he resolved to send the Duke of 
Exeter and the Earl of Surrey to tell Henry of Bolingbroke that 
he was doing much amiss, but that he, the rightful King of 
England, would pardon him and reinstate him in all his honours 
and lands, if he would but desist. Hemy, who was at Chester, 
made Exeter and Surrey his prisoners. Upon receiving this 
intelligence, the king, who had ' continued all sorrowful at 
Conway,' with his intimate friends ' all sad and distressed' went 
straight to Beaumaris. There was a strong castle there that 
could not have been taken in ten years, if it had only been 
victualled and furnished with a sufficient and faithful garrison. 
But there were provisions in none of the king's castles in these 
parts, and there was fidelity and affection to him in no place 
whatsoever. Not being able to stay at Beaumaris he w r ent to 
Caernarvon Castle, which he found totally unfurnished. In all 
his Castles to which he retired, there was no furniture, nor had 
he anything to lie down upon but straw. Really he lay in this 
manner for four or six nights, as, in truth, not a farthings worth 
of victuals or of anything else was to be found in them. Certes, 
I dare not tell the great misery of the king." 

Richard returned to Conway, w r here he greatly bew r ailed his 
young absent wife, who, by this time, was in the hands of the 
Bolingbroke party. He also bewailed that he was by day and 
by night in danger of bitter and certain death. While he was 
lying at Conway doing nothing but bewailing his hard fate, the 
Earl of Northumberland waited upon him from Duke Henry, 
who prevailed upon him to put himself in his hands, and trust 
to the decisions of the English Parliament, the Earl, it is said, 
swearing upon the sacrament that no harm should befall him. 
Pdchard quitted Conway — where he certainly could not have 
stayed much longer — and soon found that he was a prisoner, for 
the Earl of Northumberland had placed a numerous body of 
troops in ambuscade at one of the mountain-passes. 

This pass the lecturer explained was Penmaen Rhos, about 
ten miles from Conway, not far from the last tunnel through 
w r hich the railway train had passed in bringing the party that 
morning. The journey of Richard to Flint, and his mental 
sufferings there, were then described in the quaint language of 
the old writer, who says that no " creature in this mortal world, 
let him be who he would, Jew or Saracen, could have beheld the 



128 LLANDUDNO. 

king and his good friends, the Earl of Salisbury, the Bishop of 
Carlisle, Sir Stephen Scroope, and another knight named 
Ferriby, without being heartily sorry for them." The lecturer 
then drew attention to the following observations of the 
chronicler as illustrative of the regard then paid to " prophetic " 
intimations. The Earl of Salisbury told me, as we rode to 
Chester, that Merlin and Bede had, from the time in which 
they lived, prophesied of the taking and ruin of the king, and 
that if I were in his castle he should show it me in form and 
manner as I had seen it come to pass, saying thus : — 

" 'There shall be a king in Albion who shall reign for the 
space of twenty or two-and-twenty years in great honour and in 
great power, and shall be allied and united with those of Gaul ; 
which king shall be undone in the parts of the north, in a tri- 
angular place.' Thus the knight told me it was written in a 
book belonging to him. The triangular place he applied to the 
town of Conway, and for this he had a very good reason ; for I 
can assure you that it is in a triangle, as though it had been 
so laid down by a true and exact measurement. In the said 
town of Conway was the king sufficiently undone ; for the Earl 
of Northumberland drew him forth, as you have already heard, 
by the treaty which he made with him, and from that time he 
had no power. Thus the knight held this prophecy to be true, 
and attached thereunto great faith and credit ; for such is the 
nature of them in their country, that they very thoroughly 
believe in prophecies, phantoms, and witchcraft, and have 
recourse to them right willingly." 

The removal of the king from Flint is thus described : — 
"Thus, as you have heard, came Duke Henry to the castle, 
and spake unto the king, to the Bishop of Carlisle, and the two 
knights, Sir Stephen Scroope and Ferriby ; howbeit unto the Earl 
of Salisbury he spake not at all, but sent word to him by a knight 
in this manner : ' Earl of Salisbury, be assured that no more 
than you deigned to speak to my lord the Duke of Lancaster when 
he and you were in Paris at Christmas last passed, will he speak 
unto you.' Then was the Earl much abashed, and had great 
fear and dread at heart, for he saw plainly that the duke mortally 
hated him. The said Duke Henry called aloud with a stern and 
savage voice, ' Bring out the king's horses ;' and then they 
brought him two little horses that were not worth forty francs ; 
the king mounted one, and the Earl of Salisbury the other. 
Every one got on horseback, and we set out from the said castle 



LLANDUDNO. 129 

of Flint about two hours after mid-day, In form and manner 
as you have heard, did Duke Henry take King Richard, his lord ; 
and brought him with great joy and satisfaction to Chester, 
which he had quitted in the morning. And know, that with 
great difficulty could the thunder of heaven have been heard for 
the loud bruit and sound of their instruments, horns, buisines, 
and trumpets, insomuch that they made all the sea-shore resound 
with them. Thus the duke entered the city of Chester, to whom 
the common people paid great reverence, praising our lord, and 
shouting after their king, as it were in mockery." 

In referring to these transactions Mr. Hicklin took occasion to 
intersperse his remarks with some quotations from Shakspere's 
tragedy of King Richard the Second; illustrative of the fine 
touches of nature, and the faithful sketches of history which 
distinguish the dramas of that wonderful genius. 

Thus with reference to the report of the king's death, alluded 
to in the Chronicle, we have the following scene — 

Captain — My lord of Salisbury, we have staid ten days, 
And hardly kept our countrymen together, 
And yet we hear no tidings from the king ; 
Therefore we will disperse ourselves ; farewell. 

Salisbury. — Stay yet another day, thou trusty Welshman ; 
The king reposeth all his confidence in thee. 

Captain. — 'Tis thought the king is dead : we will not stay. 
The Bay trees in our country all are withered, 
And meteors fright the fixed stars of heaven ; 
The pale faced moon looks bloody on the earth, 
And leandook'd prophets whisper fearful change ; 
Kich men look sad, and ruffians dance and leap, — 
The one in fear to lose what they enjoy, 
The other to enjoy by rage and war : 
These signs forerun the death or fall of kings. 
Farewell ; our countrymen are gone and fled, 
As well assur'd, Eichard, their king is dead. 

Then again how beautifully has Shakspere noted the deter- 
mination of the hapless monarch to assume the garb of a monk 
(as mentioned in the history) in the following affecting speech 
of Richard the Second. 

What must the king do now ? must he submit ? 
The king shall do it. Must he be deposed ? 
The king shall be contented : Must he lose 
The name of king ? P God's name, let it go : 
I'll give my jewels, for a set of beads ; 
My gorgeous palace, for a hermitage ; 



130 LLANDUDNO. 

My gay apparel, for an alm's-man's guwu ; 

My figur'd goblets, for a dish of wood ; 

My sceptre, for a palmer's walking staff; 

My subjects, for a pair of carved saints ; 

And my large kingdom for a little grave. 

A little, little grave, an obscure grave ; 

Or I'll be buried in the king's highway, 

Some way of common trade, where subjects' feet 

May hourly trample on their sovereign's head ; 

For on my heart they tread, now whilst I live, 

And, buried once, why not upon my head ? 

And various other quotations might be given (did time permit) 
to the same effect, as the allusion to the horse which " the 
haughty Bolingbroke " rode in the day of his triumph, and 
numerous fine touches of pathos and beauty. 

These quotations were followed by a different description of 
King Richard's troubles, for which Mr. Hicklin said he was 
indebted to the works of another chronicler, who was remarkable 
for the quaint humour of his narratives and the faithfulness of 
his statements : — 

" Richard, who was in Ireland knew nothing of what was 
passing at home ; but when he received the news he started for 
Milford Haven, where he was almost overwhelmed with disagree- 
able information from gentlemen who made the very most and 
the very worst of every calamitous incident. Richard's soldiers 
seeing that their king more than ever required their fidelity and 
aid, immediately, according to the usual practice, ran away 
from him. ' They deserted,' says the chronicler, ' almost to a 
man,' and it is to be regretted we have not the name of the 
' man,' who formed nearly the solitary exception to the general 
apostasy. Whoever he may have been he must have exercised a 
great deal of self-command, for of course he was his own officer; 
he must have reviewed himself, as well as gone through the 
ceremony of putting himself on duty, and taking himself off at 
the proper periods. We must not, however, take too literally 
the calculations of the old chroniclers who reduce the number 
of Richard's adherents to an almost solitary soldier ; for the 
truth appears to be, that the king mustered almost six thousand 
men out of the twenty thousand he had brought with him 
from Ireland. Flight was, therefore, his only refuge ; and se- 
lecting from his stock of fancy dresses the disguise of a priest, 
Richard, accompanied by his two half-brothers, Sir Stephen 
Scroope. the Chancellor, and the Bishop of Carlisle, with nine 



LLANDUDNO. 131 

other followers, set off for the Castle of Conway. There he met 
the Earl of Salisbury and a hundred men, who had eaten every 
morsel of food to be found in the place, and Richard was occu- 
pied in running backwards and forwards from Conway to 
Beaumaris, then on to Carnarvon, then back to Conway again, 
in a wretched race for a dinner. It is pitiable to find a king of 
England reduced to the condition described in the old nursery 
ditty. He went to Conway for provisions, but — 

* When he got there, 

The cupboard was bare,' 

and the same result followed his journey to Beaumaris and Car- 
narvon. Notwithstanding the number of bones that his sub- 
jects had to pick with him, there was not one in the larders 
of the three castles he visited. ' And so,' in the emphatic 
words of the nursery rhyme, ' the poor dog had none.' So 
complete was the desertion of Richard, that the Master of the 
Household, Percy, Earl of Worcester, called all the servants 
together, and broke his wand of office, accompanying the act 
by exclaiming — ' Now I'm off to Chester to join the Duke of 
Lancaster.' This ceremony was equivalent to a discharge of all 
the domestics under him, and the king, had he returned to his 
abode, would have been compelled to ' do for himself,' in conse- 
quence of the disbanding of all his menials. The members of 
the establishment, fancying they had an opportunity of better- 
ing themselves, did not hesitate to follow the example of their 
chief, and there is no doubt that a long list, headed ' want 
places,' was at once forwarded to the Duke of Lancaster. 
Having ransacked every corner of Conway Castle without find- 
ing any provisions, Richard had nothing left but an unpro vi- 
sional surrender. He got as far as Flint Castle, but he found 
the inhabitants had flinty hearts, and he met with no sympathy. 
Henry of Bolingbroke came to meet him, when Richard, touch- 
ing his hat, bid welcome to his ' fair cousin of Lancaster.' 
' My Lord,' replied Henry, somewhat sarcastically, 'I'm a little 
before my time, but really your people complain so bitterly of 
your not having the knack to rule them, that I've come to help 
you.' Richard gave a mental ' Umph,' but added, ' Well, well, 
be it as you will ;' for his hunger had taken away all his appe- 
tite for power. After a repast, unto which the king did much 
more ample justice than he had ever done to his subjects, a 
hackney was sent for, and Richard rode a prisoner to Chester. 
No one pitied him as he passed, though the spectacle was a 



132 LLANDUDNO. 

truly wretched one. The horse was a miserable hack, while 
Richard himself was hoarse with a hacking cough, caught in 
the various exposures to wind and weather he had undergone 
in his vicissitudes." (The reading of this passage w T as frequently 
interrupted by bursts of laughter and applause ; and we may 
now tell our readers what Mr. Hicklin did not tell his audience, 
that this last extract is from " The Comic History of England," 
by Gilbert A'Beckett.) 

At the period of the Welsh insurrection, headed by the cele- 
brated Owen Glyndwr, whom Shakspeare makes to boast that he 
could " call spirits from the vasty deep," and at whose birth, 

" The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes : 
The goats ran from the mountains, and the herds 
Were strangely clamorous to the frighted fields ;" 

John de Massey was constable of Conway Castle, he had under 
his command fifteen men at arms and six archers, and was 
allowed 39s. 2d. per day (£714 15s. lOd. per annum) for the 
maintenance of the fortress. From a MS. in old French, pre- 
served in the British Museum, MS. Cotton. Cleop. F. III. fol. 
iii., which was written in Glyndwr' s time ; it shews that the 
Welsh Castles were not at that period very extensively garrisoned, 
and it furnishes the actual state of many of them. This state Mr. 
Hicklin explained on the authority of " Ellis' Original Letters." 
During the civil wars of the Roses between the Houses of 
York and Lancaster, Conway Castle was the scene of much 
contention. It is recorded that the friends of one party gained 
possession of it, while the influential family of Griffyth Goch, 
and many equally powerful in the neighbourhood, were in arms 
for the other. It happened that his son Rhys, who had gone 
either out of curiosity, or more probably for the purpose of 
examining the strength of the place, was standing at Tal y sarn, 
on the opposite side of the river, when he was slain by an arrow 
discharged from the castle by Llewellyn of Nannau. As the 
distance is considerably more than half a mile, this is probably 
one of the longest shots on record. [Whether it was the archer 
or the author who drew the long bow on this occasion we will 
leave our antiquarian friends to determine.] A few nights after 
Robin ab Gryffyth Goch o'r Graianllyn, and his brother Hywel 
with their followers, crossed the river, to avenge the death of 
their brother Rhys ; they took the castle by escalade, and be- 
headed the captain. Sir John Wynne, in his history of the 
Gwydir family, observes, that the whole country around was 



LLANDUDNO. 133 

laid waste by the partisans of the two factions ; and utterly 
desolated by Lord Herbert, Earl of Pembroke. In 1466, 
Thomas ab Robin, of Cochwillan, was beheaded, near the castle, 
by his lordship's order, on account of his staunch adherence to 
the Lancastrians ; and his wife is reported to have carried away 
his head in her apron. 

The town of Aberconwy had obtained great privileges, already 
mentioned, from Edward L, in order that he might have a body 
of Englishmen, besides the garrisons of his castle, to maintain 
his power in Wales ; all that held office in his towns of Aber- 
conwy, Carnarvon and Beaumaris, were exclusively English. 
In course of time, however, some Welshmen crept into office, 
which the English burgesses looked upon as an infringement of 
their rights, considering Wales as a foreign country subjected to 
the English, but the inhabitants by no means entitled to have 
any share of the advantages of their own land. They accord- 
ingly presented a memorial to Henry VII. and his parliament ; 
it is a curious and interesting document, and shows the jealous 
feelings entertained by the two nations towards each other. 

Mr. Hicklin quoted some curious passages to the effect just 
stated ; and made a pointed reference to the present state of 
feeling in this particular, and the desirableness of a close amity 
on " both sides of the Dee." 

In 1607 the plague — the pestilence that walketh in darkness, 
and the sickness that destroyeth at noon-day — committed dread- 
ful ravages at Conway, where it broke out within three weeks 
after its appearance in London. Numbers of dead bodies have 
frequently been found in the streets when excavating sewers. 
In the troublesome days of the Great Rebellion Conway was 
naturally regarded as a military station of great importance ; 
and the most remarkable character who then directed its desti- 
nies was the celebrated Archbishop Williams, who was born at 
Conway ; a prelate who seems to have combined the various and 
generally conflicting qualities of priest, lawyer, and soldier. 
The epitaph of this extraordinary man, who was buried at 
Llandegai Church, near Penrhyn Park, is to the following effect: 
" Sojourner read, and in these few words, particularly observe 
that which you would not expect to find in this obscure chapeh 
Here lies buried John Williams, the most renowned of prelates, 
descended by his father's lineage from the Williams's of Coch- 
willan, and by his mother's from the Griffiths of Penrhyn, 
whose great parts and eminence in all kinds of learning raised 
him first to the deanery of Sarum, and afterwards advanced him 



134 LLANDUDNO. 

to that of Westminster, by the favour of King James. At one 
and at the same time he was the most intimate favourite of and 
Privy Councillor to that Great King, Lord Keeper of the Great 
Seal of England, and Bishop of the see of Lincoln, whom 
Charles the First honoured with the Archiepiscopal Mitre of 
York. He was thoroughly versed in all the sciences — a treasury 
of nine languages — the very soul of pure and undefiled theology 
— an oracle of political tact — the very acme and ornament of 
wisdom, whether sacred, canonical, civil, or municipal. His 
conversation was engagingly sweet — his memory more tenacious 
than human — a repository of all species of history — he expended 
in magnificent edifices the sum of £20,000 — an exemplary 
pattern of liberality, munificence, generosity, hospitality, and 
compassion for the poor. In those lamentable times which 
followed, being worn out with the things which he saw and 
heard, when, by reason of the fury of the rebels, he could no 
longer serve his King nor his country, having lived 68 years, 
on the 25th March, which was his birthday, with strong faith 
in Christ, and stedfast allegiance to the King, he most devotedly 
resigned his soul to God, dying of a quinsy. It matters little 
that so small a monument, placed in this obscure spot, preserves 
the memory of so great a man, since years and ages shall never 
cease to celebrate his virtues. He died 25th March, a.d. 1650. 
" Pass on, traveller, it is enough, your curiosity is gratified."' 

Being superseded by Prince Rupert in the command of North 
Wales, the Archbishop, on the arrival of the Republican army 
from Chester, under General Mytton, assisted that officer in 
reducing that town, and was wounded in the adventure. The 
town was taken by Cromwell's soldiers on August 15th, 1646, 
and their victory was signalised by the slaughter of all the Irish 
residents, who were barbarously tied back to back and thrown 
into the river. The castle surrendered on the 10th of November 
following ; and the warlike prelate, having received a pardon 
from the Parliament, retired to the tranquil shades of Gloddaeth, 
where " broken by the storms of state," he might have renewed 
the pathetic lament of Wolsey — 

" Vain pomp and glory of this world, I hate ye ; 
I feel my heart new open'd. O how wretched 
Is that poor man that hangs on prince's favours ! 
There is betwixt that smile we would aspire to, 
That sweet aspect of princes and our ruin, 
More pangs and fears than wars or women have : 
And when he falls, he falls like Lucifer, 
Never to hop.-- again." 



LLANDUDNO. 135 

At the restoration of Charles Second, the castle was granted 
by the " Merry Monarch" to the Earl of Conway, who was 
altogether unworthy of such a possession ; for in the spirit of a 
pedlar, rather than a patrician, he ordered his agent to dismantle 
this glorious structure, by removing the timber, iron, and lead, 
to be shipped to Ireland, ostensibly for his Majesty's, but in 
reality for his own use. With a most commendable determi- 
nation, Colonel Wynn, Mr. Thomas Bulkeley, and several of the 
leading gentry of the country, attempted to oppose this destruc- 
tive design, but in vain ; the following letter which appears in 
the Rev. R. Williams' History of Conway, was written in reply to 
their remonstrances : — 

" Honoble friends, 
" I haue had the honour to receive yor letter of the 20th Sept. 
in which you are pleas 'd to enquire of me, whether my servant 
Milward cloth act by my order for the taking down of the lead, 
timber, and iron of Conway Castle ; in answer to which question 
I do by this acknowledge it to be my act and deed ; and that the 
said Milward is employed by me to dispose of the timber and 
iron, according to such directions as I gaue him ; and to 
transporte the lead into Ireland, where I hope it will be more 
serviceable to his matie then it was in this country. And 
having this opportunity of addressing myselfe to you, I humbly 
beseech you to take off the restraint which you haue put vpon 
his proceedings, and to affoord him yor favour in it ; for I am 
already prejudiced by the losse of shipping, and an opportune 
season for transportation of the lead ; yet I shall esteeme this as a 
particular obligation vpon mee, and be ready to expresse it by all 
the service in my power to every one of you, that you are pleased 
to grant this att my request ; which otherwise may put me to 
some trouble and delay. And I doubt not of meeting occasions 
to testifie my being, 

" Honoble Sirs, 
" Yor affectionate and obedient Servt, 

" Conway and Kilulta. 

" Ragley in Warwickshire, 6th October, 1665." 
" For the honoble Thomas Bulkley, Esq. ; Colonell Wynn, Hugh 
Wynn, Esq. ; Thomas Vaughan, Esq. ; his maties Deputy 
Livetenants in North Wales." 

The selfish spoiler did his work ; but a suitable fate attended 
the desecration of one of the noblest works of antiquity. Lord 



136 LLANDUDNO. 

Cod way was not merely prejudiced, as be complains, by tbe loss 
of an opportune season for shipping, but by the loss of the pro- 
perty itself, for the vessels which contained the materials for 
Ireland were wrecked on the voyage. The castle is at present 
held from the Crown by the Dowager Lady Erskine, who takes 
most commendable care for its preservation. (Cheers.) 

Mr. Hicklin then referred to Conway as the scene of several 
subjects in romantic literature, alluding more particularly to the 
tragedy of " The Castle Spectre," aod Gray's fine lyric ode of 
" The Bard," upon both of which he made some passing com- 
ments in a serio-comic style of description. He then incidently 
introduced a notice of the railway tube beneath the castle walls, 
and took occasion to contrast the facilities of modern travelling 
with the slowness of former days, when, as in 1685, the great 
route through Wales to Holyhead was in such a state that a 
Viceroy going to Ireland was five hours in journeying from St. 
Asaph to Conway ; and in general carriages were taken to pieces 
at Conway and borne on the shoulders of stout Welsh peasants 
to the Menai. This allusion naturally led to a mention of Mr. 
Telford's beautiful suspension bridge over the Conway, and a 
few apposite observations on the romantic scenery of the locality. 
The lecturer, whose address was partly written and partly 
extemporaneous, closed with an animated peroration on the 
pursuits of Archaeology in the examination of " things old," and 
contrasted the short-lived glory of the most durable monuments 
of man's device with the older grandeur of the " eternal hills," 
and the more impressive majesty of the wondrous works of the 
Almighty Architect of the Universe. 

Mr. Hicklin was greeted with prolonged applause ; and Mr. 
Pettigrew, on behalf of the British Archaeological Association, 
moved in warm terms a vote of thanks to him for the lecture, 
and expressed his hope and request that Mr. Hicklin would 
consent to its publication, in extenso, in the Journal of the 
Association. The Dean of Chester (Dr. Anson) concurred in 
these commendations, and the proposition was enthusiastically 
adopted. Mr. Hicklin, in reply to the compliment, thanked the 
meeting for their kind expressions ; and took the opportunity, 
with reference to the circumstances under which Conway Castle 
had been erected, to allude to the manner in which the Union 
of England and Wales had been originally effected, and in 
which it ought to be so cemented, in the present day, as to 
advance the mutual interests of both countries. He spoke in 



LLANDUDNO. 137 

glowing language of the natural beauties, the ancient remains, 
and the historical records of Wales ; and concluded by reciting, 
amidst renewed applause, the following lines : — 

When deep called to deep, and when horde after horde 
Scattered ruin o'er Europe with flame and with sword, 
Then our fathers stood firm, and in dark danger tried, 
From their hearths and their altars bore back the wild tide. 

And when Destiny willed the strange waters should blend, 
And their feuds, like their tempests, in sunshine should end; 
Still they trod with the foremost the great race of glory, 
And have hallow'd with virtue their fatherland's story. 

Then pledge we a toast to the glory of Wales, 

To her sons and her daughters, her hills and her vales. 

Once more — here's a toast to the mighty of old, 

To the fair and the gentle, the wise and the bold ; 

Here's a health to whoever, by land or by sea, 

Has been true to the home of the brave and the free. 

Two views of Flint and Conway Castles, as they appeared 
during the days of their strength, were exhibited to illustrate 
the lecture. 

Mr. Hicklin then conducted a large party round the ruins, 
Mr. Baily of London, an eminent architect, accompanying him 
and explaining their peculiarities. The Church, the mansion 
of Plas Mawr, and other objects of interest were visited : and 
those who were so minded remained to enjoy a dance, where 
Kings and Queens had before " trod a measure," to the splendid 
music of the band of the 46th regiment, which attended the Con- 
way excursion. Among the company, in addition to the leading 
members of the British Archaeological Association, were Lady 
Erskine and party, Lady Walker and party, parties from the 
Episcopal Palace and Deanery of Chester, General Sir W. 
Warre, and several of the officers of the Chester garrison, many 
of the Clergy and Magistracy of Cheshire and the principality 
with their families, the leading inhabitants of the "old city;" 
and, " though last, not least in our dear love," a charming dis- 
play of beauty. The festivity, social and intellectual, closed 
with the national anthem, and three cheers for " The Queen 
and the Prince of Wales :" and at nine p.m. the train with fits 
living freight of humanity returned to Chester by the light of a 
lovely moon. Mr. Hobday, of the Refreshment Rooms at the 
Chester Railway Station, supplied the provisions and wines for 
the " Pic Nic " in a most liberal and excellent style. Flags 
were displayed from the turrets of the Castle, the tower of the 



138 LLANDUDNO. 

Church, and other places, in honour of the visit, and every 
assistance was kindly given by the Vicar of Conway, Mr. Hope 
Jones, and other friends, to enhance the enjoyment of the 
excursion. 

Visitors who wish to obtain admission to Conway Castle have 
only to knock at the door in the wall, and the warder will be 
immediately in attendance. 

In the month of July, 1857, Conway was visited by the 

members of the Archaeological Institute of Great Britain and 

Ireland, at that time holding their Congress at Chester. The 

Castle was explored and described by the Rev. E. H. Harts- 

horne, and other authors of antiquarian celebrity ; Mr. Hicklin 

and several friends from Chester taking part in the discussions, 

which confirmed the foregoing description. 



TOWN OF CONWAY. 

jpf HE town of Conway is singularly interesting, and 
^8 4^ J wears " a genuine antique air. 1 ' Indeed, as " The 
Land we live in" well describes, " there is at every 
turn some quaint old structure or picturesque bit of a street, 
terminated by a tower and fragment of the walls, a portion of 
the Castle, or one of the gate-houses ; just such a picture, in 
short, as Prout might paint without changing a feature. Nor 
are fitting 'figures' wanting to give animation and completeness 
to the picture. Welsh peasants, countrymen from neighbouring- 
villages, miners, or market-women with their jackets and odd tall 
hats, and perhaps a sailor or two, are strolling about the streets ; 
while on a market or fair clay the lively groups, in their best 
costumes, talking at the top of their voices in their strange 
guttural language, increase not a little the uncommon character 
of the scene." 

The most notable building in Conway is Plas Mawe, the 
Great Mansion, which bears date, 1585, and was founded by 



LLANDUDNO. 139 

Robert Wynne, of Gwydir. It is now the property of Lord 
Mostyn. As an illustrative example of the architecture of 
former days, it is worth inspection ; and its panelled walls, with 
their elaborate carvings of figures, coats of arms, and heraldic 
devices, among which the initials of Queen Elizabeth and her 
favourite, Lord Leicester, are frequently introduced, will convey 
to the visitor an intelligible idea of baronial state and manners 
in the olden time. A winding staircase leads to a turret, from 
which there is an excellent view of the town and the surround- 
ing countiy. Another interesting relic of past ages is " The 
College," a stone house probably of the date of Edward the 
First, which forms a picturesque bit of antiquity, and has a 
singular window fronting Castle Street. 

Conway Church, though not remarkab]e for any features of 
architectural beauty, is a spacious and venerable structure, 
which the intelligent antiquary will examine with interest ; 
albeit certain modern " restorations" and " improvements" may 
disturb his serenity. The Church once belonged to a Cistercian 
Abbey, founded here by Llewellyn ap Jorweth, which was re- 
moved by Edward the First to Maenan, ten miles up the vale. 
Few, if any, remains of the old abbey are now discernible. 
The Church contains a remarkably fine screen, said to have 
been brought from the abbey ; some good panelling, and late 
decorated work ; and in the windows there are a few valuable 
fragments of ear]y glass. At the east end of the north aisle a 
modern obituary window, presented by the Dowager Lady 
Erskine, has lately been introduced. There is a stone font of a 
very early date ; it is elaborately carved, and stands on a pillar 
with steps encircling the base. There are several interesting- 
monuments, among which are incised and raised slabs of various 
dates ; there is a sculptured stone with a female effigy, to the 
memory of the mother of the celebrated Archbishop Williams, 
whose death occurred in October, 1585 ; another stone marks 
the grave of John Brickdall, Vicar in Conway for thirty-eight 
years, whose ancestor, we are further informed, was Thomas 
Brickdall, the first Governor of Conway Castle in 1292 ; there 



140 LLANDUDNO. 

is also a circular-headed monument in the chancel wall, to the 
memory of Robert Wynne, who died in November, 1598, and 
some of his posterity ; and the queer inscription on the grave- 
stone of Nicholas Hookes, who lies buried in the chancel, is 
perhaps worth transcribing : " Here lyeth the body of Nicholas 
Hookes, of Conway, gentleman, who was the forty-first child of 
his father, William Hookes, Esq., by Alice his wife, and the 
father of twenty-seven children, who died the 20th day of 
March, 1637." The Church services are alternately in the 
Welsh and English languages, and the Vicar, the Rev. M. 
Morgan, M.A., is most assiduous in the discharge of all his 
pastoral duties. There is a well-conducted National School at 
Conway. The town possesses also a neat and convenient 
market-house, and many inns ; the principal of which are the 
Erskine Arms, the Castle, and the Harp, where conveyances for 
excursions may be had. The former hotel, which is a new 
building, stands directly opposite to the Railway Station ; con- 
venient and handsome carriages of every description may be 
hired there, and an omnibus runs regularly to Llandudno 
during the season. 

A new object of general interest has been added to the 
manifold attractions of this neighbourhood, by the erection of 
the immense tubular bridge of iron, which carries the Chester 
and Holyhead Railway across the Conway Straits. This extra- 
ordinary achievement of modern science consists of two tubes, 
parallel to each other, one for the transit of the "up," and the 
other of the " down" trains ; each measuring 412 feet in length, 
and weighing 1300 tons ; the width of each is 14 feet, and the 
height at each end 22£ feet, gradually rising till it attains in the 
middle an altitude of 25£ feet. The section of the tube is 
therefore nearly rectangular : the walls, floor, and ceiling are 
composed entirely of hard wrought iron, built into massive 
towers of masonry erected on each side of the Straits ; and the 
exterior, which conveys an impression of strength and stability, 
though by no means suggestive of the picturesque, is painted a 
free-stone colour. The first tube w T as firmly adjusted on April 



LLANDUDNO. 141 

17, 1848, and on May 17, in the same year, a splendid banquet 
was given at Conway, in honour of Mr. R. Stephenson, M.P., 
whose genius planned, and whose enterprising talent brought to 
perfection, this mighty monument of engineering skill. The 
Hon. E. M. Lloyd Mostyn, M.P. (now Lord Mostyn) presided ; 
Mr. W. B. Hughes, M.P. officiated as vice-president ; there was 
a numerous attendance of the gentry and clergy of the locality ; 
and there were also present many eminent engineers, among 
whom was the projector's father, the late Mr. George Stephen- 
son, whose fame has become identified with the origin a.nd 
progress of railway science in Europe. On that occasion Mr. 
R. Stephenson narrated the birth, as it were, of that idea which 
first suggested to his mind this novel undertaking, as well as the 
difficulties which had arisen in bringing it to maturity ; and the 
modest pride with which he referred to its final success evinced 
a combination of moral worth with intellectual power, the fre- 
quent characteristic of truly great minds. In the construction 
of this tubular viaduct, Mr. E. Clark acted as superintending 
engineer and the confidential friend of Mr. R. Stephenson ; 
Mr. Fairbairn and Mr. Hodgkinson assisted in the preliminary 
experiments ; Mr. A. Ross was the engineer for the masonry ; 
and Mr. Evans was the contractor for the execution of the 
works. And to all these parties the greatest praise is due for 
the energy and skill with which they co-operated together in this 
surprising effort of mechanical art and labour. Since May, 
1848, the railway trains have been regularly passing through 
the tube without the slightest hindrance or failure, to shake 
public confidence in the thorough safety of this novel contri- 
vance. The second tube was fixed on November 15 th, 1848, 
and the results of its use have been equally satisfactory. The 
Railway Station at Conway is also well designed ; and a more 
interesting excursion than a trip to that town, abounding as it 
now does with modern wonders and ancient relics, cannot be 
recommended, since the speculative antiquarian and the prac- 
tical utilitarian may alike find information and pleasure from 
such a visit. 



142 



LLANDUDNO. 




LLANTIYVST BEIDGE. 



EXCURSIONS. 




ROM Conway, numerous interesting aDd diversified 
excursions may conveniently be made into some of the 
most attractive districts of North Wales, for each of 
which a day may suffice ; although the traveller will doubtless 
be tempted to linger for a much longer period, amidst " scenes 
so charming." To Llanewst, a distance of twelve miles, the 
drive is exceedingly beautiful ; and pleasant opportunities for 
enjoying the same prospects are now afforded by the Inland 
Steam Navigation Company, one of whose vessels sails every 
day from Conway, with the flow of the tide to Trefriw ; and, if 
so minded, you can return with the ebb. Boats may also be 
hired for the sail up the river from Conway or Llandudno, to 
return w T ith the tide. Leaving Conway, you pass the secluded 
village of Gyffin, with its interesting old church ; and at a 
distance of five miles reach Caer Rhun, another lovely spot, 
where antiquaries have fixed the site of the ancient Roman 
Conovium, respecting which there are many historic records. 
About eight miles from Conwa} r , high up the mountain, near 
the bridge called Pont Porthlwyd, is a grand and picturesque 



LLANDUDNO. 



143 



Cataract, known as Rhaiadr Mawr, which is supplied from the 
pool Llyn Eigiau. Two miles further on is Tbefkiw, beauti- 
fully situated, and commanding delightful views of the Vale of 
Llanrwst, which Mr. Burke pronounced " the most charming- 
spot in Wales," and which recent tourists have viewed with 
rapture, as witness Miss Costello's enthusiasm : — 




CHAPEL IN GWYDIlt WOOD. 



" One of the prettiest villages I ever saw is Trefriw, as far 
as which the tide reaches. The two wheels of a charmingly 
picturesque mill are here turned by a rushing cataract, which 
dashes over heaps of rocks in delightful confusion, threatening 
to destroy the frail building close to which it leaps and fumes. 
Just beyond it a hue waterfall comes rushing down from a great 
height, foaming and tumbling over dark blocks and through 
rich foliage, and the scenery grows more and more charming as 
the town of Llanrwst is approached. From the immensely 
steep bridge built by Inigo Jones, the view on the river is lovely 
in the extreme : the clergyman's house and grounds, the magni- 
ficent trees and lawns sloping to the river, the clearness of the 
waiter, and the mountains covered with every luxuriant growth 
that can be imagined — the grey rocks between and the bright 
blue sky and gay sun gilding the whole scene 'with heavenly 
alchemy ' — seen, as we were fortunate enough to see it — are 
enchanting beyond expression. The sky, which had been cloudy 



144 



LLANDUDNO. 



and uncertain when we set out, had cleared, and the sun break- 
ing forth gave all the brilliancy which his touch alone can 
bestow, and rendered the view perfect. 

" We were peculiarly favoured during our stay at Llanrwst, for 
we had only fine weather, and were enabled to visit the water- 
falls and behold them in their most attractive forms. 

" The vale of Llanrwst has been called ' the most charming 
spot in Wales,' and but for the embarras cles richesses which the 
country exhibits, I should pronounce it to be really so ; beauty 
succeeds beauty in continued succession, and every step has 
something new to show more lovely than the last. 

" There is a rivalry between the famous falls of the Wenol, or 
Swallow, and those of the Machno and the Conway. As each 
is exceedingly grand, and all possess features of their own, it 
is impossible to prefer one to the other ; but, perhaps, owing to 
their being the first I saw in Wales, I give the falls of Llanrwst 
the preference over others which 1 afterwards visited. The 
extreme beauty and grandeur of the surrounding scenery greatly 
adds to their effect, as well as the shape of the rocks and the 
form of the rugged basins into which they cast themselves with 
a roar, which awakens every echo far and near, and 



makes the woods acquainted ' 



with their vicinity 




WATEllFALL OF THE SWALLOW, 



LLANDUDNO. 145 

" The falls of the Conway have been aptly compared by a 
poet who resides in their neighbourhood, to the rush and leap 
of a wild horse, whose mane streams to the wind as he hurls 
himself over the precipice. A rocky hollow, scooped by nature 
into an immense cauldron, receives the hurrying, startled wave 
into its bosom, where it boils and foams and lashes onward 
again down the shivering rocks into a hundred lesser falls. The 
river Machno joins the Conway at the distance of a few yards 
above that fall. Scarcely one hundred yards from the junction 
and ascending the river Machno, is the very beautiful fall to 
which it gives its name. It is, I believe, sometimes called ' the 
Pandy Fall,' from the circumstance of a fulling mill, in Welsh 
pandy, having been built close to it. From this fall the river 
Machno runs through a deep, narrow, rocky chasm to the Conway. 

" Rhaiadr-y-Wenol, or the Swallow, comes angrily over a ledge 
of rocks in several gushing streams, throwing itself from point 
to point, and finally alighting in a deep cavern far below its 
first leap ; then, with prodigious impetuosity, it hurries on for 
several miles to the romantic bridge of Pont-y-Pair, where by 
degrees it becomes calmer, but not till after it has finished its 
strife of waters near that beautiful spot, where the Llugvvy, 
violent and crested with foam, forms a hundred cataracts as it 
hurries through the luxuriant scenes of Bettws-y-Coed, and at 
Pont-y-Pair dashes over a barrier of broken rocks, and thunders 
down the vale. 




BETTWS-Y-COED. 



140 



LLANDUDNO. 



" Moel Siabod here rises in awful majesty, a glorious moun- 
tain whose height is little inferior to that of the great Snowdon 
itself; at least so it appears when beheld from this lovely valley : 
nor is it less imposing from Capel Curig. From its summit 
may be seen nine lakes and the distant sea." 




SNOWDON. 

Llanrwst Church, with its curious antiquities, and Gwydir 
Woods close to the town, should be visited; and four miles 
further will bring you to the beautiful village of Bettws-y-Coed, 
the popular resort of artists and anglers, and to the singularly 
romantic bridge of Pont-y-Pair. Pursue your journey towards 
Capel Curig, which is distant only five miles ; and having 
travelled about a mile and a half, you will find on the right 
hand of the roadside in the wall a little wicket-gate, which will 
lead you to the sublime and glorious scenery of Rhaiadk-y- 
Wenol, or the waterfall of the Swallow — the finest cataract in 
Wales. Proceed to Capel Cukig (so named from its little 
church dedicated to the Welsh saint Curig,) where you will find 
a most excellent and well-conducted hotel, in a charmingly 
secluded spot, which combines the loveliness and the majesty of 
nature. From the pretty garden of the inn, there is a magnifi- 
cent view of Snowdon and the lovely lakes in front, stretching 
along the charming valley, which presents a beautiful variety of 
wood and water, and is skirted by mountain scenery of great 
sublimity and grandeur. 



LLANDUDNO. 147 

" Every one (says the author of ' The Land we live in ') comes 
to Wales mainly for the sake of the mountains and the scenery ; 
and whatever is grandest and most characteristic in Welsh 
mountain scenery is brought together and concentrated in Snow- 
donia. A month devoted to this district alone would provide 
food for the intellect and the imagination for years to come, for 
tourists are able or willing to give more time than this to the 
whole of North Wales, and that time is expended in visiting in 
succession every object that, for any reason, is celebrated ; and 
the arrangements are so made, as to devote to every place and 
object as little time as it can possibly be examined in. Not so 
can a mountainous country be fitly explored or understood. It 
is not merely bare hills and white waterfalls that are of interest 
and value. The poetry of the mountains lies more in their ever 
changeful phenomena that are their inseparable attendants. 
A mountain is in itself the same to-day that it was yesterday ; 
but the appearance it presents to an observant eye is very dif- 
ferent — it has become another though the same. Many of the 
circumstances which are most annoying to the mere sight-seer 
are really what afford the richest enjoyment to one watchful of 
the varying phases of nature. The grandeur and the gloom of 
the mountains and the lakes, the most glorious phenomena of 
which the mind, in such localities, is cognizant, are transitory, 
evanescent, fitful. If you would enjoy them, you must wait for 
them in patience ; be abroad at all seasons to observe ; and then, 
often when least anticipated, and in places seemingly the least 
likely, they reveal themselves to the willing eye and heart. 
Day and night, summer and autumn, fair weather and foul, 
every hour and every season has its own charms and utters its 
own voice. Stormy weather, against which, not unreasonably, 
tourists generally declaim, is, in truth, a thing to be especially 
coveted. Never do the mountains and the shadowy valleys, so 
emphatically speak home to the heart as then. Whether it be 
as the gathering clouds herald the coming storm ; or when half 
the landscape is wrapt in darkness and in tempest, as the light- 
ning is breaking upon the sharp peaks,, and the thunder echoing 
along tliQ hollows ; when the struggle between sunshine and 
gloom proclaims that the storm is passing away ; or, later, when 
a soft rainbow is spanning the valley — alike is there in the 
sublimity or the loveliness a power which is never felt amid the 
quiet beauty attendant on an unclouded sky. And though the 
mists are hardly to be admired when they envelope both hill 

L 



148 LLANDUDNO. 

and vale in a garment of uniform gray ; yet he knows little of 
mountain scenery who does not recognize in them perhaps the 
most valuable of poetic and picturesque auxiliaries. Let but a 
gleam of sunlight into the landscape, and how beautiful do the 
mists appear when congregating about the summits or rolling 
along the slopes of the mountains, hanging over the watercourses 
or filling the hollow ravines. What knows he of the mountains 
who has not wandered alone in some solitary nook, 

When underneath the young gray dawn 

A multitude of dense white fleecy clouds 

Were wandering in thick flocks among the mountains, 

Shepherded by the slow, unwilling wind ! 

But we repeat, thoroughly to enjoy and appreciate this district, 
it is not enough to keep merely to the beaten roads. Let the 
tourist wander at will wherever he can find a way, and every- 
where he will discover unanticipated wealth. Scenes, whether 
of grandeur or beauty or solitary desolation, will be alike recog- 
nized as of distinct individuality, complete and perfect in them- 
selves, yet linked by imperceptible gradations into harmony with 
surrounding scenes." 

Moel Siabod, a remarkable mountain, whose summit is 2,878 
feet above the sea, may be conveniently ascended from Capel 
Curig ; and the climb on a fair day will amply repay the labour. 
Beneath Moel Siabod, about five miles distant, is the sequestered 
village of Dolwyddelan, the broken towers of w T hose rained 
castle, standing on a bold rock amidst a rude amphitheatre of 
mountains, are remarkably picturesque, and form another of 
those attractive scenes which combine historic associations with 
natural grandeur. The neighbourhood of Capel Curig, indeed, 
abounds with objects of interest to the artist, the archaeologist, 
and the angler ; and as its capacious hotel has an extensive 
reputation for good accommodation and good fare, it has long 
been a popular resting-place for tourists. 

From Capel Curig the visitor may proceed to Bangor, a dis- 
tance of fourteen miles, through a singularly wild and romantic 
district ; past the celebrated Lake Ogwen, so famous for its 
trout ; the tremendous glen of Nant Ffrancon ; the gloomy 



LLANDUDNO. 



149 



cliffs of Llyn Idwal ; the marvellous slate-quarries of Cae 
Braich-y-Cafn, which no tourist should leave unvisited ; and the 
verdant woods of Penrhyn. Arrived at Bangor, the facilities of 
railway travelling are again obtainable, so that by the excellent 
arrangements of the Chester and Holyhead line, any desired 
destination may soon be reached ; and the return to Conway 
(for Llandudno) be accomplished in half an hour. 




CAPEL CUEIG. 



CONWAY TO BANGOR. 

fWj& ROM Conway to Bangor is another pleasant and pic- 
'V^ turesque excursion, whether by road or rail. The 
scenery is exceedingly grand ; and as the route skirts 
the base of the mountains, and opens out also remarkably fine 
sea views, the prospect is at times really sublime. The road 
winds round a sandy bay at the foot of Penmaen Bach, but to 
make a way for the flaming dragons of the rail, the bold genius 
of Stephenson has pierced that flinty mountain with a tunnel ; 
and as you emerge from its gloomy recesses, you discern right 
ahead the black steeps of Penmaen Mawk, beneath whose 



150 LLANDUDNO. 

shadow there is a railway station, distant about five miles from 
Conway. In the good old times, the fifteen miles from Conway 
to Bangor were thought rather a serious journey; one at any 
rate not to be undertaken without due consideration. The 
road lay along the brow of the precipitous Penmaen Mawr ; and 
to traverse it was often really very dangerous. The only means 
of avoiding this road by a land passage was to proceed along 
the sands, but which could only be ventured upon when the 
tide was out. Even as late as 1774, after a better road had 
been constructed, it appears to have been regarded as suffici- 
ently formidable. Dr. Johnson was here with the Thrales in 
that year, and he has this entry in his diary: — "August 18. 
We would have stayed at Conway if we could have found enter- 
tainment ; (it was race-day, and the inns were full ;) for we 
were afraid of passing Penmaen Mawr, over which lay our way 
to Bangor, but by broad daylight. * * There was no stay, 
however, on any other terms than of sitting up all night. * * 
Our coach was at last brought, and we set out with some anxiety, 
but we came to Penmaen Mawr by daylight, and we found a 
road lately made very easy and very safe.' This road was after- 
wards improved, and in 1827, was re-constructed by Telford, 
and rendered one of the finest in the kingdom — a remark 
applicable, by the way, to the great Holyhead lines of road 
which that eminent engineer formed by order of the Govern- 
ment throughout the Principality, on a scale of greatness and 
excellence till then unseen in this country. Even now, some 
portions of the road along Penmaen Mawr wear, in stormy 
weather, a rather startling appearance ; especially where it is in 
part cut out of the face of the beetling cliff, with the sea at a 
considerable distance below, and the grim precipice towering 
high over head.* 

* " The Land Ave live in." 



LLANDUDNO. 151 

The Eailway, however, has now made us thoroughly inde- 
pendent of all these trepidations and inconveniences. On the 
summit of Penmaen Mawr there are the remains of an ancient 
British fortification of immense strength, which in the days of 
its power could accommodate an army of 20,000 men. About 
a mile towards the north-east, there are also some remarkable 
Druidical circles, and other vestiges of Celtic antiquity. 




Aber. 
From Penmaen Mawr the road traverses a well-cultivated tract 
of country, whose bright verdure contrasts most pleasantly with 
the sterile heights of the frowning mountains, and after a ride 
of rather more than four miles reaches Aber,- — a charming 
village at the entrance of a deep glen, which leads up about 
two miles into the bosom of the hills, and terminates at a rocky 
precipice, down which falls a beautifully picturesque cataract, 
forming a picture of extreme loveliness and grandeur. Aber is 
a place of some celebrity in the annals of North Wales, as the 
site of a Roman station, and of the palace of Llewellyn, who 



152 LLANDUDNO. 

there illustrated the " wild justice" of revenge, by hanging up a 
Norman baron whom he suspected of an intrigue with the 
Princess Joan. There is a ferry from Aber across the Lavan 
sands to Beaumaris, on the opposite shores of Anglesey ; a 
guide, however, in attempting this deceitful passage at low water 
is indispensable, and many are the anecdotes of "hair-breadth 
'scapes and imminent perils" which are related concerning this 
shifting road, the usual highway in former days between Eng- 
land and Ireland, the inconveniences of which are quaintly 
illustrated in the following amusing extract from the " Autobio- 
graphy of Sir John Bramston, K.B., of Skreens, in the Hundred 
of Chelmsford," son of the Lord Chief Justice under Charles I. 
Sir John and his father were off to Ireland to celebrate the 
latter's second marriage with Elizabeth, relict of Sir John 
Brereton, Serjeant-at-Law in Ireland. They had been delayed 
some days in Chester, waiting for the wind, which continuing 
unfavourable they were advised to take horse as far as Holyhead, 
as the best and speediest passage : — 

" Soe away we went next day. One Mr. Fountain and Sir 
Thomas Cary went alonge with us, and passinge ouer the moun- 
tains Pen Men Maure, in the narrow passage wee met a gentle- 
man of whome Mr. Fountain and Sir Thomas enquired how the 
tyde was, whoe told them we might pass well if we made hast ; 
soe they putt on, we following, not knowinge what had passed. 
Soe soon as they were downe the mountaine they fell to gallop- 
inge. Neither my father nor my selfe understood at firste the 
meaninge ; but findinge the water grow deeper, for it came in 
rills, wee suspected the sea might be cominge in, as it was, and 
soe I desired my father to gallop too. The sands, save only in 
these rills, were carpet ways. At last we came to the place where 
they were (I meane Sir Thomas and Mr. Fountain) expect- 
inge the feme boat, which was at Beaumaris and the ferrimen 
drinking. We all made as loud a call as we could. We did 
see some fisherboats, and beinge in great perplexitie and feare, 
we all rode on breast vp the streame, purposeinge to trie if our 
horses (the worst comeing to the worst) would carrie vs ouer. I 



LLANDUDNO. 153 

askt my father if he could swim ; he sayd when he was young 
he could. Sayd I, Wee will keepe up the tyde, with the help of 
our horses, and by swimminge, we may either gett ouer, or else 
some of the boates may take us in. At last the ferriemen sett 
out and came to us, tellinge us we were in noe danger ; but by 
such time as we and our horses were on board, a ship might 
have rode betweene us and the shore behind us, and all was 
couered with water where we stood longe before we gott to Beau- 
maris. There w r ee ley that night, and the next morning wee 
rode to Holliehead, where he stayd expecting a wind, and the 
Welch parson put himselfe to the truble to prepare an English 
sermon against Sunday, but the wind beinge fair on Sunday 
morninge we went on board, and left our host, black Hugh, and 
the parson, to eate what was prepared for dinner." * * * 

In due time they reach Ireland, the father marries his new 
wife, 

" And wee returned againe, intending to land at Holliehead, 
where were the horses, but the wind would not permitt ; but wee 
putt ashore betweene Holliehead and Beaumaris, sent for the 
horses, and came to bed at Beaumaris, where then liued one 
Cheadle, that had maried the Lady Bulklye, and liued on the 
seate, which is noble, the parke comeing downe to the sea, &c. 
From thence we ferried ouer, taking our tyde better. As she rode 
ouer the sands behind me, and pulling off her gloue, her wedding 
ring fell off, and sunck instantly. She caused her man to 
alight ; she sate still behind me, and kept her eye on the place. 
Directed her man, but he not guessing well, she leaped off, 
saying she would not stir without her ringe, it beinge the most 
vnfortunate thinge that could befall any one to loose the 
weddinge ringe ; made the man thrust his hand into the sands, 
(the nature of which is not to bear any weight but passinge ;) he 
pulled up the sand, but not the ringe. She made him strip his 
arme and put it deeper into the sand, and pulled up the ringe ; 
and this tyme he and shee, and all that stood still, were sunck 
almost to the knees, but wee were all pleased that the ringe was 
found. Gott up to horse againe, and arriued at the great hill, she 
behind me. As wee rode, her feet hunge, as it were, ouer the 
rocke into the sea, and by degrees wee came soe high that shee 
was not able to sitt any longer, she was so affrighted ; and the 
way was so narrow that she was taken backward from off the 
horse from behind, and soe she walked, as we all did, ouer the 



154 LLANDUDNO. 

hill, the rock beinge extreeme high, both from our feete to the 
sea and above our heads too, so that we rode and walkt, as in the 
midle of the rock. Soe we came to Conway, and there we lay, 
and from thence to Chester." 




BANGOE. 

Thankful therefore for our improved facilities for travelling 
in these good days of Queen Victoria, proceed we now from Aber 
to Bangoe, a distance of five miles, passing on the way Penrhyn 
Castle, the stately residence of Colonel the Hon. E. G. Douglas 
Pennant, M.P. ; the beautiful scenery of the Ogwen river and its 
wooded ravine ; and the model village of Llandegai. At Bangor 
the visitor will of course stop to examine the old Cathedral, 
founded in the sixth century ; inspect its architectural 
peculiarities ; ponder over its interesting history : and hear the 
well-deserved praises of its venerable Dean, of whose worth its 
fine east window is a beautiful and significant memorial. The 
Episcopal Palace, the Museum, a walk through the long serpen- 
tine street under its singular rocks, and a search for antique 
remains of a Norman castle and British camp on the heights in 
the vicinity of Friars' School, will supply other occupation and 
amusement ; while the splendid views from the slopes and sum- 
mits of the green hills, will well reward the lovers of the 
picturesque for any time and labour they may devote to a ramble 



LLANDUDNO. 



155 



through the district. There are many good hotels in Bangor, 
the principal of which, on the east side of the city, is the 
" Penrhyn Arms," dehghtfully situated in an extensive garden 
stretching down to the Menai Straits, and affording every possible 
accommodation the visitor can require. This hotel was the 
honoured residence of Queen Victoria, her illustrious Consort 
and family during a recent visit to the Principality. 




PENRHYN CASTLE. 



Penrhyn Castle is "the lion" of the neighbourhood ; it is built 
in a spacious park, after the most imposing style of Norman mag- 
nificence, and the interior is princely and unique. Strangers may 
obtain admission, by ticket, every Thursday; and, when the family 
is absent, on Tuesday also. The marine and inland views from 
this point are impressively grand and beautifully diversified; the 
mountains rising range behind range to the peak of Carnedd 
Llewelyn — the dark outline of Penmaen Mawr, towering above 
the clouds which creep along its breast — Penmaen Bach stretch- 
ing towards the bright estuary of the Conway ; and the Great 
Ormes Head projecting like some huge island into the sea, 



156 



LLANDUDNO. 



which rolls its vast expanse beyond ; while the wooded shores 
and the hills of Anglesey, the pleasant town of Beaumaris, and 
the lonely rock of Puffin Island, combine to form a picture 
which delights the eye, and dwells in the memory as " a thing 
of beauty," which art must strive in vain to realize. From 
Bangor to those wondrous Bridges, which have given a world- 
wide celebrity to the Menai Straits, is a very easy transition. To 
the Britannia tube, where there is a station, it is only a ride of 
two miles and a quarter by rail ; and a delightful ramble through 
the fields, or a picturesque passage by a boat, for a mile, will 
conduct the visitor to the Menai Suspension Bridge, whence a 
walk or a drive of two miles by the turnpike road will bring you 
back to the Bangor Station. 

The Menai Suspension Bridge was erected by the order and 
at the expense of the Government, in consequence of the many 
fatal disasters which occurred from crossing the Straits in ferry 
boats ; for the furious currents which occasionally run through 
this channel often make navigation a work of danger. The 
engineer was Mr. Telford ; the work was commenced in 1818, 
and finished in October, 1825 ; but the general opening did not 
take place till January 30, 1826, when the Royal London and 
Holyhead mail-coach for Dublin was driven across during a 
violent gale ! The dimensions of the bridge are as follow : the 
extreme length of the chain, from the fastenings in the rocks, is 
about 1715 feet ; the height of the road-way from high-water 
line is 100 feet ; each of the seven small piers, from high-water 
line to the spring of the arches, is 65 feet ; the span of each arch 
is 52£ feet ; each of the suspending piers is 53 feet above the 
road ; the roads on the bridge consist of two carriage ways of 12 
feet each, with a foot path of 4 feet in the centre ; the length of 
the suspended part of the road from pier to pier is 553 feet ; the 
carriage-road passes through two arches in the suspending piers 
of the width of 9 feet by 15 feet in height to the spring of the 
arches. The cost of the bridge was about £120,000. As a 
graceful work of mechanical skill, it is one of the wonders of 
Wales ; but so symmetrical are the proportions, that no adequate 



LLANDUDNO. 157 

idea of its size and height can be obtained without seeing it from 
the shore or the water beneath. 



#Mm 




BKITANNIA TUBULAR BRIDGE. 

The Britannia Tubular Bridge is another wondrous 
triumph of engineering genius, and was constructed to carry the 
Chester and Holyhead railway over the Menai Straits. The 
first stone of the Britannia tower was laid in May, 1846, and on 
March 5, 1850, one line of roadway being complete, the first 
railway train passed through the Britannia tunnel, The entire 
length of the bridge is 1841 feet ; and the floor is 100 feet above 
high-water mark. It is formed of eight iron tubes, the total 
weight of which is 10,000 tons, joined together by 2,000,000 of 
rivets. The Britannia tower is 62 feet by 52 feet 5 inches at 
the base ; it has a gentle taper, so that where the tubes enter it 
is 55 feet by 45 feet 5 inches. Its total height from the bottom of 
the foundations is 230 feet; it contains 148,625 cubic feet of lime- 
stone, and 144,625 of sandstone, weighing very nearly 20,000 
tons, and there are 387 tons of cast iron built into it in the shape 
of beams and girders. The land towers are each 62 feet by 52 
feet 5 inches at the base, tapering to 55 feet by 32 feet at the 
level of the bottom of the tubes ; their height is 190 feet from 
high water ; they contain 210 tons of cast-iron in beams and 
girders. The bridge is divided into four spans, viz., the two 



158 LLANDUDNO. 

small spans at each end, which are over the land, and are each 
230 feet wide ; and the two principal spans, which are over the 
water, and are each 460 feet wide. It is a work of marvellous 
greatness, and will form an enduring monument of the unequalled 
skill and courage of its engineer, Mr. Eobert Stephenson, as the 
most stupendous exhibition of mechanical talent the world has 
yet seen. 



FROM LLANDUDNO TO THE MENAI BRIDGE. 

To those who love an aquatic excursion, there is no trip 
which in favourable weather will be more acceptable than a run 
from Llandudno to the Menai Bridge. Two excellent and well- 
appointed steam boats now ply between Liverpool and the 
Menai Straits — the Prince of Wales on Tuesdays, Thursdays, 
and Saturdays ; the Druid on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fri- 
days. These packets call regularly in Llandudno Bay, to 
disembark or take up passengers, who are conveyed to or from 
the steamer in boats manned by steady and experienced sailors ; 
and the voyage is most enjoyable, even by those who have an 
aversion to a long excursion by sea. The course of the vessel 
is in close proximity to the stupendous rocks of the great 
Ormes Head, which are thus seen to the greatest advantage. 
There are few objects, it has been well observed, more imposingly 
grand than the appearance of this bold projection. The great 
depth of the sea which washes its base, renders a very near 
approach perfectly safe in fine weather ; and at the same time 
conveys an idea of its gigantic dimensions, so considerable a 
portion of which is concealed by the waters upon which it casts 
its mighty shadow, making their darkness blacker, and their 
immensity seem more profound. The rugged grandeur of its 
yawning chasms and majestic precipices is yery striking. The 
Pen Trwyn rock excites universal admiration ; the Dutchman s 
Cave and Ogo Colomenod, the " Pigeon's Cave," are other notable 
objects ; and Mainc-y-Stewardiad, the " Steward's Bench," is 
associated with a tradition, that when the agents of the house 



LLANDUDNO. 159 

of Gloddaeth acted dishonestly, they were compelled to do 
penance by sitting naked on this ledge of rock, exposed to the 
pelting of the storm and the dashing of the waves, although at 
too great an elevation to be drowned by the tide. St. Tudno's 
Church, on its bleak eminence, and the Telegraph Station 
beyond, will be observed with interest ; the grey rocks, whence 
the stone was fetched for the towers of the Conway railway tube, 
will induce a speculative thought ; the vast overhanging crags 
will excite emotions of awe and wonder ; and the western cliffs 
of the mountain, the wild haunts of myriads of sea-fowls, cor- 
morants, herons, and peregrine falcons, will supply many a 
suggestive illustration of natural histoiy to the inquiring and 
the intelligent. It is the custom when the steamer is passing 
these tremendous rocks, to awaken their echoes by the blast of a 
trumpet or the discharge of a gun, which has also the effect of 
startling the sea-birds, which fly forth in immense numbers, 
making the rude crags suddenly vocal with their strange screams 
and discordant cries, so thoroughly in unison with the rude 
attributes of the scene. Travellers have described the western 
extremity of this vast promontory, opening upon Beaumaris 
Bay, as some of the finest rock scenery in Britain. The sur- 
rounding prospects, too, are remarkably fine ; there is distant a 
view of Conway Castle ; Penmaen Bach and Penmaen Mawr 
stand boldly out at the foot of the mountains, the background 
of w T hich is absolutely enchanting when lighted up by a bright 
sun ; and on the other hand, the peculiar situation of Puffin 
Island (about seven miles from Llandudno Bay) commands 
general attention. " The Itinerary of Archbishop Baldwin 
through Wales," translated from the Latin of Giraldus de 
Barri by Sir Bichard Colt Hoare, contains the following notice 
of this island, which describes it as it was six hundred and 
forty-four years ago, and in the true spirit of that remote age : — 
" There is a small island almost adjoining Anglesey, which is 
inhabited by hermits, living by manual labour, and serving 
God. It is remarkable, that when, by the influence of human 
passions, any discord arises among them, all their provisions 



160 LLANDUDNO. 

are devoured and infested by a species of small mice, with which 
the island abounds. * * * This island is called in Welsh, 
Ynys Lenach, or Priest's Island, because many bodies of saints 
are deposited there, and no woman is suffered to enter it." — The 
translator, in his " Annotations," gives a more recent account, 
which we subjoin : — " Ynys Lenach, now known by the name 
of Priestholme Island, bore also the title of Ynys Seiriol, from 
a saint who resided upon it in the sixth century. It is also 
mentioned by Dugdale and Pennant, under the appellation of 
Insula Glannauch. The former has given in his " Monasticon" 
a recital of the grants made to this priory by Prince Llewellyn 
and his brother David, as well as the confirmation of them by 
King Edward the First, by which it appears that the Abbey of 
Penmon, with all its appurtenances, was granted and confirmed 
to the prior and canons of this island, which is also said to have 
been the place of interment of Maelgwn Gwynedd, the founder 
of Penmon, Holyhead, and Bangor, and cotemporary with King 
Arthur. The fretum, which separates the island [from Anglesea] 
is something more than half a mile across. The island is 
between half and three-quarters of a mile long, and nearly of 
an oval form, precipitous, with an inclination to the north ; the 
soil is rich, with a small portion of sand intermixed ; it can 
boast of no buildings but a ruined tower, and of no inhabitants 
but sheep and rabbits." There is now a Telegraph Station there, 
with a residence for the manager. 

The ArchcBologia Cambremis further explains : — 

" The religious brethren who first settled on the island with 
St. Seiriol, were no doubt of that simple order which existed in 
Britain previous to the introduction of foreign rules from Rome, 
and afterwards they were, like their brethren of Bardsey, changed 
into Canons Regular of the order of St. Augustine ; though, at 
what precise period, we are unable from any documentary evidence 
to ascertain. We know nothing of the early history of the com- 
munity, except that the little island, from its well-known sanctity, 
became like Bardsey, a chosen spot of sepulture. The first head, 
St. Seiriol, is related to have gone periodically across Anglesey to 
meet his religious friend St. Cybi, who coming from his own 



LLANDUDNO. 161 

monastery at Holyhead, used to meet him about half way, at 
Clorach, near Llanerchymedd. We also learn that Nidan, the 
son of Gwrvyw ab Pasgen ab Urien Rheged, was to have been a 
member of this monastery ; and that Elaeth Frenhin, a northern 
chief and a bard, spent his latter days within its walls. Edwal, 
a son of Griffith ab Canan, Prince of Wales, was abbot or prior 
here about the year 1130. Giraldus Cambrensis, in mentioning 
the recluses of the holy isle, states the tradition as extant in his 
time of their being overrun and troubled with mice whenever 
they happened to disagree among each other ; a tradition which, 
as far as it goes, is partially founded on fact, inasmuch as the 
Norwegian rat abounds in swarms on the island at the present 
day, and if left to itself would almost extirpate the puffins and 
rabbits, for which the island is celebrated, and from whence it 
derives its modern name of Puffin Island." 

The puffins, which are birds of passage, make this island their 
home from April to August, after which month they are seen no 
more until the time again comes round, when they re-appear 
with the same mysterious suddenness as they departed, and in 
as large numbers. On the open common of the island there is 
an upright stone, marking a burial place of some unfortunate 
mariner, with this inscription : — " Bar. Stowt, belonging to the 
Sally, died in the small pox, November the 3rd, 1761. The 
ship was cast away here." 

As you steam past Puffin Island towards Beaumaris, the 
waterfall of the Aber Glen beyond Penmaen Mawr is seen 
streaming clown the mountain side like a thread of silver : the 
adjacent scenery forms a really splendid panorama of natural 
beauty ; and on the Anglesey shore the mansion of Baron Hill, 
the seat of Sir R. B. W. Bulkeley, Bart., M.P., with its 
picturesque domain, forms an attractive feature in the landscape. 
The packet stops at Beaumaris to land passengers, and an 
opportunity is thus afforded of taking a good view of that 
delightfully-situated watering-place.. It is a remarkably pleasant 
town, possessing good hotels, an interesting old Church, and 
extensive ruins of an ancient Castle, built, like the fortresses of 
Caernarvon and Conway, by Edward the First, to secure his 
sovereignty in Wales. Leaving Beaumaris, the Straits on either 



162 LLANDUDNO. 



k. 



BEATJMAMS. 

hand present a succession of charming pictures. Penrhyn 
Castle shows to advantage on the Carnarvonshire side ; and the 
Anglesey shore is studded with modern residences of handsome 
construction. The packet stops off Garth Point to discharge 
passengers for Bangor, and finally comes to anchor near the 
Menai Suspension Bridge, directly opposite to the George Hotel, 
(one of the best houses in Great Britain), after a most enjoyable 
sail of two hours — the fare for which, at the cabin end of the 
steamer, is only one shilling, in addition to sixpence for the boat 
which takes you to the packet at Llandudno. The tourist has 
thus arrived at a most favourable spot for examining the Menai 
Suspension Bridge ; another mile by land or water will biing 
him to the Britannia Bridge, where the return train for Conway 
may be taken ; or, if disposed to while away a few pleasant hours 
in that interesting locality, another train leaves Bangor later 
in the evening ; and thus one of the cheapest and most 
attractive tours in the Principality may be enjoyed, at less 
sacrifice of time and money than the most rigid economist 
would have thought possible but a few years ago. As omnibuses 
run regularly to Conway from the principal Hotels at Llandudno, 
and return thither on the arrival of the trains, every convenient 
facility for making excursions into any part of Wales is 




LLANDUDNO. 168 

obtainable ; and during the summer months there is no lack of 
public conveyances on moderate terms to all the districts in 
popular favour with visitors. 



LLANDUDNO. 

b N addition to its central situation for making daily visits 
to the more celebrated spots in the vicinity, Llandudno 
may be confidently recommended as a most eligible 
place for a lengthened or permanent residence. We have noted 
some of its advantages ; its marine parades, its mountain walks, 
its rural rambles, and its picturesque position will commend it 
to general favour ; while the geologist will find " sermons in 
stones" among the minerals and marvels of its rocks ; the 
archaeologist will derive pleasure from a study of its antique 
remains ; the student of natural history will take interest in the 
strange varieties of the feathered tribes which throng its craggy 
solitudes ; and the botanist will derive delight from the num- 
berless flowers and herbs which flourish on its bold headlands, 
or in its sequestered nooks ; for in the Kev. R. Williams' 
" History of Conway," a list of eighty-three of the more 
uncommon plants is given as growing in and about Llandudno ; 
and the Cotoneaster vulgaris is particularly specified as having its 
only habitation in these kingdoms on the limestone rocks above 
the mines on the Great Ormes Head. 

Provisions are good and plentiful ; and now the new market- 
place is erected, further competition will no doubt stimulate 
larger supplies and cheaper prices. The bay swarms with fish ; 
and it only requires some well-directed plan of management to 
develope its resources. While we write, the progress of improve- 
ment becomes more and more distinct ; unsightly hovels are 
disappearing, and handsome buildings rising on their sites ; 
first-class shops are increasing, and the erection of commodious 
lodging-houses is striving to keep pace with inquiries for their 
occupation. A most important addition to its facilities for com- 



104 LLANDUDNO. 

munication with all parts of the kingdom, is the construction of 
a Railway from Conway to Llandudno. 

In the year 1853, the St. George's Harbour Company obtained 
an Act of Parliament for making such railway, and in the year 
1855 a supplementary Act to alter and amend the former was 
passed. The course of the line is delineated on the map, and 
its terminus is about one hundred yards south of Mostyn Street, 
not far from the Queen's Hotel. The same Company have 
powers to erect a pier for sea-going steamers, with facilities for 
using boats at all states of the tide ; the work has been com- 
menced at the rocks under the Baths, and will be carried out 
sufficiently far to effect the purposes of its construction. 

A Bill has also passed through Parliament to authorize the 
formation of a new turnpike road from Conway to Llandudno ; 
the route selected is well chosen and picturesque ; it will lead 
from the embankment in Conway in a direct line through the 
lovely vale beneath the ancient mansion of Marl, the woods of 
Bodysgallen and Gloddaeth, pass through the quiet little village 
of Eglwys Rhos, between the Church and Bryn Maelgwyn, and 
thence fall into the present road to Llandudno. By this im- 
provement all the steep declivities and sudden turns of the road 
now in use, and the inconvenient drive along the shingly shore, 
will be avoided, while a nearer and almost level route will be 
obtained. 

The great importance of an efficient system of Drainage and 
Water Supply, for domestic and sanatory purposes, cannot be 
too highly estimated ; we are therefore happy to learn that the 
Commissioners have directed their attention to these essential 
requisites. The plans of Mr. Macdougall Smith, C.E., which 
are those adopted, are comprehensive and complete. His sys- 
tem of drainage consists of a reservoir main sewer, with colla- 
teral drains from the Main Parade at the Ormes Bay to the 
Conway Bay, into which they are discharged at about three- 
quarters ebb tides, when the sewage becomes diluted with a vast 
body of water, and passes to such a distance down the tidal 
current as to be carried away beyond any chance of return with 



llanduij.no. 165 

the floods. To effect this, advantage is taken of the rise of 
tides for the flushing the whole system of drainage between the 
hays, by means of tanks placed at the extremities throughout 
the length of the esplanade, and filled by the rising tides, and 
each tank discharged throughout the sewers, when the penstock 
is raised at the outfalls of the main sewer, thereby giving a head 
of water from 12 to 15 feet for flushing at each tide, and thus 
insuring the cleanliness and healthiness of the town. 

The Water Supply is obtained and conveyed by gravitation, 
from the Gogarth Springs, near the top of the Great Ormes 
Head, to a storage reservoir at Tyn-y-Coed, which is about 350 
feet above the level of the sea ; thus giving a sufficient pressure 
of water to reach the highest dwelling for sanatory purposes, and 
also as a guarantee from danger in cases of fire. The details of 
these works embrace all the engineering improvements of modern 
science, the plans and survey having been designed and prepared 
by the eminent engineer before named, who has carried out 
similar works with decided success in various parts of the king- 
dom. An analysis of the Gogarth Spring waters, intended for 
the supply of the town has been made by the eminent chemist 
Mr. Herapath of Bristol, with the following results, as described 
by himself : — 

•' In an imperial gallon there are in grains and decimal parts as follows : 

Chloride of Calcium 0.163 

Sulphate of Magnesia 1.433 

Common Salt 5.643 

Organic Matters 32b' 

Nitrates Traces. 

Carbonate of Lime 9.963 

Sulphate of Lime 433 

Oxide of Iron 003 

Silica 463 

Total Salts per Gallon 18.427 

There is nothing in this water to prevent its being used for domestic 
purposes ; it is hard before being hoiled (15 degrees), about the average 
of Bristol spring waters ; after boiliug it will be only 5 degrees, which 
is rather soft ; it will, therefore, do well for brewing, tea-making, &c. 



166 LLANDUDNO. 

You will perceive that all the substances contained in a gallon weigh but 
18 4.10ths of a grain, and when the carbonate of lime (nearly 10 grs.) 
are precipitated by boiling, the solid contents are but 8£ grains, of 
which 5J grains are common salt." 

The purity of the water whence it is proposed to derive the 
supply is therefore incontestably demonstrated ; and so copious 
are the springs that any required quantity may be collected. 

It should further be noticed, that from its great elevation the 
water will supply itself, and no annual expense in the mainte- 
nance of forcing engines will be incurred. Mr. Herapath, we 
believe considers the Gogarth Springs equal to the celebrated 
Bristol water ; and two physicians of eminence have pronounced 
Llandudno far better adapted by nature for the hydropathic 
system of treatment than Malvern — a fact which only requires 
to be known to be duly appreciated. 

Gas Works for lighting Llandudno have also been constructed 
in the vicinity of the town, on the Conway Road, and this 
convincing proof of public spirit is duly appreciated. 

Marvellous and rapid are the changes which have taken place 
since 1849, when Mr. Maitland of Liverpool, (whose literary 
labours have since been pretty freely pirated) wrote the original 
" Guide to Llandudno." Intelligent enterprise has converted a 
marsh, where ten years ago, as the natives say, the croaking 
frogs disturbed their sleep, into a verdant valley, upon which 
has risen a thriving town that already ranks as the " Queen of 
Welsh Watering-places." Its future will no doubt be one of 
satisfactory progress ; for art and science are there combining to 
plant amidst nature's glorious scenes a welcome resort, whither 
the busy classes of society may hasten to forget the dust and 
turmoil, the noise and excitement, of the work-a-day world, in 
that happy season of serene enjoyment — a sea-side holiday. 

And so, whether in search of health or recreation, commend 
us to Llandudno. 



APPENDIX. 



For the special information of Botanists, the following list of 
Plants to be found at Llandudno and the neighbourhood is 
subjoined : — 

Ammophlla Arundinacea. Sea reed — On the sandy coast. 

Asperugo procumbens. German madwort — On the rocks. 

Allium vine ale. Crow garlick ; graf y gerddi, cenin ewinog — On the 
rocks. 

Alisma plantago. Greater water plantain ; llyren, llyriad — Ditches. 

Arenaria verna. Vernal sandwort — On the rocks. 

Arabis hispida. Welsh rock-cress ; beriv y fagwyr, beriv y graig — 
Ditto. 

Aster tripolium. Sea starwort; serenllys y morfa — Salt marshes. 

Antirrhinum cymbalaria. Joy-leaved snap dragon ; trwyn y llo, eiddew 
ddail — Walls, Gloddaeth. 

Brassica oleracea. Sea cabbage ; bresych, caivr — Ehiwleden. 

Convolvolus soldanella. Sea bindweed; cynghafog arfor, ebolgarn 
y mor — On Dyganwy warren, and the coast. 

Chenopodium. Bonus Henricus. Good King Henry's — Ruins of Go- 
garth palace. 

Cotyledon umbilicus. Navelwort; bogeil-lys, dail gron — Bocks and 
stone-walls. 

Cerastium semidecandrum. Little mouse-ear chickweed; cornwlyddyn, 
dust llygoden, corraid, blodeuddail gwahanedig — The coast. 

Cerastium tetrandrum. Four-clef ditto; cornwlyddyn pedwar gwrryw 
—Ditto. 

Cotoneaster vulgaris. Downy leaved medlar — Limestone rocks above 
the mines ; the only habitat in the kingdom. 

Cochlearia Danica. Danish scurvy-grass — Salt marshes. 

Cakile maritima. Sea rocket — Conway marsh. 

Crambe maritima. Sea Kale ; ysyedd arfor — On the shore and rocks. 

Cichorium Intybus. Wild succory ; ysgallen y meirch, ysgellog gwyllt 
— Near the village and at Tydraw. 

Carduus tenulelorus. Grey thistle; ysgallen man fiodeuog — On the 
upper rocks. 

Centaurea cyanus. Corn blue-bottle ; cramenog, bengaled — In corn- 
fields near Ehiwleden. 

Dianthus caryophyllus. Clove pink ; penigan — Walls of Aber- con way. 

Dianthus Deltoldes. Maiden Pink — Diganwy. 

Digitalis purpurea. Foxglove — Trap Rocks, near Diganwy. 



168 APPENDIX. 

Elymus arenarius. Upright sea lyme-grass — On the sandy coast. 

Ertthrea littoralis. Dwarf tufted centaury; canrhi, arlladlyd, bustl 
y ddaear — On the coast. 

Epipactis latifolia. Broad-leaved Helleborine; caldrist — Rocks to 
westward of the town. 

Erodium marttimum. Sea stork's bill ; pig y creyr arfor — The shore 
and warrens. 

Eupatorium cannabinum. Hemp agrimony ; byddon chwerw — The road 
to Conway. 

Fedia dentata. Corn Salad ; llysiau yr oen, gicylaeth yr oen, diadwyth 
— Rocks. 

Fosniculum vulgare. Common fenel; ffenigl — Under Conway castle 
and about Llandudno. 

Fumaria capreolata. Ramping fumitory; mwg y ddaear, afreolys — An 
uncommon variety, with white flowers — Hedges near Rhiwleden. 

Glaux maritima. Sea milk-wort ; hel-las — Salt marshes. 

Glaucium luteum. Yellow horned poppy; pabi corniog melyn, llwydlas 
— The coast. 

Geranium lucldum. Shining crane's bill; pig yr aran disglaer — Walls 
near Rhiwleden. 

G. Sanguineum. Bloody crane's bill; pig ar aran Rhuddgoch — The 
coast, marsh, and rocks. 

Gentiana campestris. Field gentian ; crwynllys y maes — Upper rocks. 

Gymnadenia conopsea. Fragrant Orchis — Cliffs above the town. 
v Helianthemum oanum. Hoary dwarf rock-rose— Ditto and at Gloddaeth. 

Hutchinsia petrjea. Rock Hutchinsia — Mountain above the mines, &c. 

Hippocrepis comosa. Horse-shoe vetch ; pedol y march — The rocks. 

Hypericum montanum. Mountain St. John's wort — Eastern side of 
Town, near Baths. 

Hypochozris maculata. Spotted cat's ear ; mclynydd — Ditto. 

Hyosciamus niger. Henbane; lleioyg yr iar, bela,parfyg, crys y brenhin, 
ffa y dorch — On the coast, abundant. 

Inula conyza. Ploughman's spikenard; meddyg mair, codowydd, meddyg 
y bugail — On dry banks near the river. 

Inula dysenterica. Flea-bane; cedowys cyffredin — Road from Boda- 
fon to the shore. 

Iris fostldissima. Stinking Iris — Gloddaeth wood. 

Juniperus communis. Juniper; merywen gyffredin — Pydew above Pabo ; 
Bryn Maelgwyn, and top of Bryn Euryn. 

Lithospermum ofeicinale. Graymill ; maenhad meddyg aw, grawn yr 
hard — Rocks, and thickets above the mines. 

L. maritimum. Sea Gromwell ; maenhad meddygol arfor — On the shore. 

Lathyrus sylvestris. Wild lathyrus; yd bysen barhaus, cul-ddail — 
Hedges near Aber Conway. 

Lenosyris vulgaris. Goldilocks ; penenrid, peneuraidd — Ditto. 

Lepidium Smithh. Smooth Field-pepperwort — Coast in various places. 

Listera ovata. Tway blade — In Bodafon meadows. 

Marrubium vulgare. White horehound — Great and little Ormes 
Heads. 

Medicago maculata. Spotted medick ; magtys — Ruins of Gogarth. 

Mentha viridis. Spear mint; myntys — Rocks above Tydraw and 
Gogarth, 



APPENDIX. 1(59 

Neottia spiralis. Fragrant ladies' tresses — Hill westward of the town. 

Obiganum vulgaee. Wild marjoram ; mesuriad cyffredin, penrudd. 
mintys y creigiau — Euins of Conway, Bryn Maelgwyn, and ditto. 

Oeobanche HEDEEiE. Ivy broom-rape ; orfangc, com yr afr — Buins of 
Conway Castle, on the Ivy. 

Oechis pyeamidales. Pyramidal orchis; tegeirian bera, tegeirian coch 
yr hdf — Gloddaeth wood, Bryn Maelgwyn, and Great Ormes Head, near 
copper mine. 

Pyeus aeis. White beam tree ; cerddinen wen — The limestone rocks. 

Potentllla vebna. Spring cinque-foil; pumbys, pum-nalen — Gloddaeth, 
Little Ormes Head, coast, and the rocks. 

Papavee hybeidum. Bough headed poppy ; pabl — Fields. 

Paeeetaeia officinalis. Pellitory of the wall; canhauawl, cantafod. 
murlwyn, barthlys — Walls and rocks. 

Pingtjicula vulgaris. Common Butterwort — Near Pigeons' Cave. 

Plantago maeitima. Sea plantain — On the coast. 

Peenantes muealis. Wall lettuce — On the rocks and banks. 

Eubia peeegeina. Wild madder; gwreidd-rudd, coch-tvraidd — Glodd- 
aeth, the sea coast, Porthuchaf, and the lane between Marl and Llanrhos. 

Bhamnus cathaeticus. Purging Buck-thorn — Bryn Maelgwyn. 

Bosa spinosissima Burnet rose ; mwccog — The coast and warren, 
v Bosa Fosteei. Downy ribbed dog-rose ; rhosicydd — Hedges. 

Scabiosa succisa. Devil's bit scabious; clafr-llys gwreidd-don— Meadows. 

Sagina maeitima. Sea pearl-wort ; cor-wlyddyn — Sandy coast. 

Samolus valeeandi. Water pimpernel; gwyddlwyn, brathlys — On moist 
clay near Pigeons' Cave, and Llech. 

Sison amomtjm. Hedge bastard stone parsley — Near Eglwys Bhos. 

Silybum maeianum. Milk-thistle ; ysgallen wen, llaeth ysgall, cribau 
mair — About the town. 

Statice aemeel\. Sea gilliflower ; archmain, blodan gorphenaf — Bocks. 

Statice Spathulata. Upright spiked sea lavender — North East side 
on rocks, Conway side near copper pen. 

Scllla veena. Vernal squill; cerumen y brain — The upper rocks, 
Bhiwleden, rocks near Pigeons' Cave, and meadows near Gloddaeth. 

Saxieeaga co3spitosa. Tufted saxifrage ; llyfe nicy, tor maen — Bhiwleden. 

S. teidactylites. Bue leaved saxifrage — On Conway church-yard walls, 
and rocks at Pen Dinas. 

Silene nutans. Nottingham Catchfly; gladlys — Gloddaeth, and the 
socks above Llandudno and Bhiwleden. 

Sedum anglicum. English stone crop; briweg y cerrig, gwenith y brain, 
bywydog — Bocks. 

S. dasyphyllum. Thick leaved stone crop — Walls near the church, and 
Castle of ConAvay. 

S. Fosteeianum. Welsh rock stone crop — The rocks of Bhiwleden. 

Sceophulaeia veenalis. Yellow figwort ; gornerth — Lane near Glodd- 
aeth, and Bodysgallen wood. 

Seeeatula tinctoeia. Common Saw-wort — Ormes Head, Bryn Mael- 
gwyn, &c. 

Smyenium olusateum. Alexanders — Gogarth Abbey, Conway Castle, 
and Diganwy Castle. 

Spib&:a filipendula. Dropwort ; crogedyf — On the hill. 

Senecio visgosus. Stinking groundsel ; greulys, carnwydd — The coast, 
and waste ground. 



170 APPENDIX. 

Saponaria officinalis. Soapwort ; sebonllys meddygawl — Near the 
mines on the head. 

Sedum telephiuh. Orpine or Live-long; carewin, bywydog lydanddail, 
llysiau Taliesin — Woods at Gloddaeth, and at Rhiwleden. 

Triglochin palustee. Marsh Arrow-grass — Near Pigeons' Cave. 

Thalictrum minus. Lesser meadow rue — The coast, rocks, and also 
at Llech. 

Trifolium striatum. Soft knotted trefoil: meillonen fefusaidd — On the 
coast near Diganwy. 

Veronica hvbrida. Welsh speedwell; rhuddlwyn, llys Llewelyn — On 
the limestone rocks, ahove Llandudno town, near Gloddaeth, &c. 

Viola hirta. Hairy violet; myllynen — On the rocks. 

FERNS. 

Asplenium RUTA-MURARiA. Wall-rue spleenwort — On rocks and walls. 
A. trichomanes. Common wall spleenwort — Near Tyn y Coed, &c. 
A. adiantum nigrum. Black-stalked spleenwort — Ditto. 
A. marinum. Sea spleenwort — Rocks near Pigeons' Cave. 
Osmunda regalis. Osmund-royal or flowering fern — Meadows below 
the town. 

The foregoing botanical notes have been subjected to the revision of Thomas Baxtek, 
Esq., of Worcester, a gentleman well known in this branch of science, and whose kind- 
ness we gratefully acknowledge. 



CATHERALL AND PRICHARD, PRINTERS. EASTGATE ROW, CHESTER. 



CATHEKALL AND PEICHARD S HAND-BOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



PRICHARD & DODD, 



FURNISHING UPHOLSTERERS, 



I^§T©^\TI STOUT 



isistito 



Respectfully inform the Visitors and Residents of Llandudno and the 
Neighbourhood, that they have opened a branch of their 

ESTABLISHMENT IN LLANDUDNO, 

FOR THE SUMMER MONTHS, 
with an entire new 

STMK @ft SIMMI1 BMSSIS, 

SHAWLS, MANTLES, 



ALSO 

DUPLICATES OF THEIR EXTENSIVE STOCK OF 

CARPETS, LINENS, DAMASKS. 



im 



&c, &c. 



ANY ORDERS CONFIDED TO THE CAHE OF THEIR MANAGER, 
MR. PARRY, MAY BE STRICTLY DEPENDED UPON. 



CATHERALL AND PRICHAR1) S 



HUGH HUGHES, 

(Late R. Thomas,) 

Jfamilg anlr gi^eitsing €\tm\st f 

MOSTYN STREET, 

LLANDUDNO. 



H. H. begs to thank the Inhabitants and Visitors of Llandudno for the 
patronage he has received; and avails himself of the present opportunity 
to assure them that every attention shall be paid to the preparation of all 
Medicines, Physicians' Prescriptions, Family Precipes, &c, entrusted to 
his care. 

A CHOICE ASSORTMENT OF 

ENGLISH AND FOREIGN PERFUMERY. 
ELLIS'S SODA AND POTASH WATER, LEMONADE, &c\, 

SODA, SEIDLITZ, AND GINGER BEER POWDERS. 

CKOSSE & BLACKWELL'S (PURVEYORS, TO THE QUEEN) 

PICKLES, SAUCES, MARMALADE, JAMS, &c, 



(Genuine patent MtWim^ 
FINE COLZA, VEGETABLE, SEAL, & PALE EAPE OILS. 



GENUINE HORSE AND CATTLE MEDICINE. 



GENUINE TEAS, COFFEES, SPICES, &c. 



PRICE'S PATENT COMPOSITE CANDLES. 



Agent for the " Llandudno Register," published every Thursday 
Morning during Summer Season, 

CONTAINING THE LIST OF VISITORS. &c. 



HAND BOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



HARP AND PIANO-FORTE WAREHOUSE, 

ABBEY STREET, CHESTER. 




BOTJCHEB JL3STJD GO. 
Have always on hand an extensive Selection of New and Second- 
hand INSTRUMENTS of the best character, for SALE and 
HIRE, on the most moderate Terms. 

Additional Stocks kept by their various Agents in Wales. 



AGENT FOR 

Beaumaris Mr. Byrne, Post Office. 

Conway & Llandudno. Mr. Sayce, Church Walks, Llandudno. 

Rhyl Mr. Roberts, Royal Hotel. 

Tuning and Repairing in all its Branches. 

ELLERBY'S CENTRAL LIBRARY, LLANDUDN07 

TIEIELIMIS IPEIR, ^OLTTIVLIE - 

A PENNY A DAY. 
SIXPENCE A WEEK. 
TWO SHILLINGS A MONTH. 
EIVE SHILLINGS A QUAKTEE. 

HERBERT ELLERBY, 

BOOKSELLER J^^TJD STATIOITEB, 

Of whom may be had Maps, Guide Books, and Views of Llandudno 

and North Wales, on Note Paper, on Cards, or in Books. 

"THE LIBRARY," 
Opposite the Eailway Station, Mostyn Street, Llandudno. Established 1851. 

W . BKIDGE, 

BOOKSELLER AND STATIONER, 

HIGH STREET, CONWAY, 

Begs to inform the Visitors and Inhabitants generally of Llandudno and the Vicinity, 
that his premises, called " The Library," are now opened with a choice selection of Books, 
Stationery, Views, Fancy Goods of all descriptions, including Embroidery, Berlin Pat- 
terns, Wools, &o., Ladies' and Children's Straw and Fancy Hats, Feathers, Gloves, &c. 

Parties subscribing to the Library will have the privilege of selecting their Books from 
either the Conway or Llandudno Library. Unstamped London and Provincial News- 
papers on sale every Saturday morning. Newspapers can be ordered from London for 
any Number of days. Books and Periodicals from London weekly, and oftener if required. 
A large assortment of Paper Hangings. Agent to the British Hong Kong Tea Company. 



CATHERALL AND PR1CHARD S 



HENRY BUR WELL, 



©Kim)IR©IKI WALK! 



H: 



APARTMENTS 



UtStiS. KUIlil, 
12, OLODDAETH CI^ESGEl^T, 

LLANDUDNO. 



MISSES TONES AND BRAGG, 
LLANDUDNO 




^ZPJLZR/TnvnZEIErTS IFOIR, IF-A-IMIIILiIIES- 



APARTMENTS FOR FAMILIES. 

THOMAS ROBERTS, 

w & i Ji w a ^r i& 3^. A # m 9 

(Fifth Door from the Queen's Hotel,) 

LL ANDTJDlsrO. 



Most pleasantly situated, facing the Bay, and commanding the beautiful 
Sceneries of the neighbourhood. 



HAND-BOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



h^TiP' 



THE OLDEST ESTABLISHED IN LLANDUDNO. 



jyffi Jul Jo JL 
PROPRXETKESS, 



■ ,H 



VISITORS, TOURISTS, AND OTHERS 

Will find here the fullest accommodation, combined with moderate 
charges. The House is closely situated to the Beach and the Great 
Ormes Head. 

WINES & SPIRITS OF THE CHOICEST QUALITY, 

WHOLESALE AND RETAIL. 

POSTING IN ALL ITS BRANCHES. 

LOCK-UP COACH HOUSES, &c. 




LLANDUDNO. 



SAMUEL LLOYD, 

Jfnrms|mg & (lateral |r0iramitgtT t 

GAS FITTING ESTABLISHMENT. 



ZB-A-TIKS OUST SALE OB HIRE 



CATHERALL AND PRICHARD S 



No. 9, GLODDAETH CRESCENT, 

LLANDUDNO, NORTH WALES. 

Begs to inform families of the Nobility, Glergy, and Gentry, seeking a 
Marine Sojoumage, that he has at his disposal the handsome accomoda- 
tion afforded by the above large and commodious House. It is situate 
on the best part of the Beach ; is most elegantly Furnished ; and replete 
with every convenience. 

THE COOKING DEPATMENT IS VERY CAREFULLY 
ATTENDED TO. 



E. B. respectfully solicits the patronage of those paying a visit to this 

Coast. 

Siaiimierjr, §trlm, aito <f anrjj ^tpsitorj, 

MOSTYN STREET, LLANDUDNO. 



SAMUEL HARTLEY, 

In returning his sincere thanks to those numerous Friends and Visitors, who Lave so 
liberally supported him since he has commenced Business, begs to inform them that he 
has removed to more convenient Premises, nearer the Queen's Hotel, where he hopes by 
unremitting attention to retain that confidence and support, which will ever be his study 
to merit. Circulating Library. A well-assorted stock of Drapery Goods, Berlin Wcols, 
Gauntlets, Gloves, Hosiery and Haberdashery. Welsh Linsey and Wolsey Dresses and 
Aprons in great variety. Welsh Flannels. An assortment of Welsh Bog-Oak Carvings, 
in Brooches, Shawl-pins, Paper-cutters, &c.,.&c. Any thing Carved to Order by a Welsh- 
man in the Neighbourhood. Genuine Teas and General Groceries, Fancy Biscuits, 
Spices, Pickles, Sauces, &c. A General Assortment of Stationery, Guide Books, Views of 
Llandudno and other Views in Wales, on Note Paper, Cards, Books, and large Lithographs. 



MARINE PARADE, LLANDUDNO. 

Parties visiting Lllandudno, can be accommodated with spacious 
BED BOOMS, and convenient SITTING- BOOMS, pL asantly situated,' 

AT 

MS. I. IISIIS'S, 

5. MOSTYN CRESCENT, MARINE PARADE, 



HAND-BOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



TIMM BAKU k ffl., 



CHURCH WALKS, 

fc ft A M ?R\ ftft ffi\ SMt /fh 



AGENTS FOR GUINNESS'S STOUT, BURTON AND OTHER 

ALES. 



Carter s Builbmgs, Masfijn Street, Lkububna. 
JAMES BURWELL, 

From the Neville Street Bazaar, South-port, 

Takes this means of giving information that he has opened a Branch 

Establishment in that most delightful watering place, Llandudno, North 

Wales, in the above-named place. 

WITH A VERY VARIED STOCK OF 

FANCY GOODS, TOYS, & CURIOSITIES, 

THEWS ATO STAira©MBmT 9 
JEWELLRY AND TRINKETS SUITABLE FOR SEA-SIDE PRESENTS, 

Collected from the Continent and London and Birmingham Markets. 
and hopes, by constant and strict attention to business, to meet with 
liberal patronage. 

JAMES BURWELL, 

© A Z /A /A R 9 
CARTER'S BUILDINGS, LLANDUDNO, 

CARNARVONSHIRE. 



CATHERALL AND FRICHARD S 



mm™ 

%mx$x Jfttrg, Hartjj 3Ssk 



9 



In returning her grateful thanks for the patronage and support which 
she has received during the last fifteen years, 

MISS I&1I&TS 

Begs to inform her friends and the public, that during the winter season 
she has added to the comforts and accommodation at THE GEORGE, 
on a scale calculated to meet its present requirements. 

Among the Buildings now added to " The George," is a New COFFEE 
ROOM, on a magnificent scale, adjoining which, and fitted up in a style 
appropriate for Evening Reception, is an OCTAGONAL DRAWING 
ROOM of corresponding proportions. Above is a new range of Sleep- 
ing Apartments, which enables MISS ROBERTS to make up Forty 
Additional Beds. 

THE STABLES have been much enlarged and improved, the 
Carriage and Posting Department having, at the same time, undergone 
thorough revision. 

Additional Hot and Cold BATHS have been built, and are always 
ready. 

SEA BATHING may be enjoyed at the foot of the Grounds. 

Omnibusses from " The George" meet every train at Bangor Station. 

Liverpool Steamers ply to and from Bangor Ferry daily. 

PLEASURE AND SAILING BOATS are in constant attendance, 
and the Sea Fishing, in the Straits opposite the house, seldom fails to 
afford sport. 

" The George " is lighted by Gas manufactured for its sole use, and 
free from any impurity. 



ONE AT THREE, THE OTHER AT SIX P.M. 

The house is as usual supplied with Wines of the first-class. 

The growing necessity which MISS ROBERTS has of late 
experienced for more ample accommodation, to meet the requirements 
of the increased numbers who honour her house with their patronage, 
has induced her, at a very large outlay, to perfect her present arrange- 
ments, and she ventures to express a hope, that the spacious and well- 
appointed Apartments, which have formed part of her plan, will now 
be found sufficient for a demand which for some time past it has been 
difficult- fully to provide for. 

George Hotel, Bangor Ferry, July. 1858. 



HAND-BOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



THE CAPEL CURIG HOTEL, 

AND POSTING HOUSE. 



JANE WILLIAMS 

Respectfully returns thanks to the Nobility, Gentry, and Public 
generally, who have for so many years honoured her by visiting 
this commodious and comfortable Hotel, and expressed their 
warm approval of its arrangements and management. 

She has to observe that it will still be conducted with that 
attention to their convenience, which has hitherto ensured her 
their patronage, and that the charges will be as moderate as is 
consistent with the accommodation furnished. 

The House is centrally situated for excursions, amidst the 
most beautiful scenery of North Wales, and on that account is 
made the head quarters of tourists and artists. It is at the foot 
of Moel Siabod, within a short distance of the Swallow Falls, 
Lakes Gwynant and Dinas, Beddgelert, Snowdon, Llanberis 
Lakes, Ogwen Lake, Nant Francon, the Slate Quarries, Penrhyn 
Castle and Bangor ; and Guides and Ponies may be had at any 
time for the ascent to Snowdon, which is considered remarkably 
easy from this side. There is excellent Trout Fishing in the 
adjacent and surrounding lakes, and the numerous streams in 
the neighbourhood ; and boats are kept by J. W. on the Capel 
Curig, Ogwen and Gwynant Lakes. And the view in ascending 
from Capel Curig side is acknowledged by both Artists and 
Tourists to be the most splendid of all others. The view of 
Snowdon from the garden also is most magnificent. 

Posting in all its branches, with good horses, carriages, and 
careful drivers. 

Wines, Spirits, and Ales of the first quality. 

DISTANCE FEOM 

Miles.' Miles. 

Penrhyn Arms Hotel 14 j Pentre Voyl as 13 

Bangor 15 | Swallow Waterfall 3£ 

Menai Bridge 17 j Machno Waterfall 8 

Penrhyn Slate Quarry 10 Dolwydclelan Castle 11 

Llanberis 10 | Idwal Lake 6 

Beddgelert 12 j Llanrwst 11 

GgwenLake 5 | Llandudno 27 



CATHEEALL AND PRICHARD S 



>t 



ST, GEORGE'S TERRACE, MARINE PARADE, 

LLANDUDNO. 

ISAIAjT^VIESr^OTRIETOIl. 
TABLE D'HOTE AT HALF-PAST ONE EVERY DAY. 

An Omnibus to and from the Conway Station and the Erskine Arms 
Hotel, four times a day during the Season. 



HOT AND COLD SALT WATER BATHS ON THE SH ORTEST NOTICE. 
THE DAILY AND OTHEB PAPERS BY EXPRESS, 

TAKEN IN REGULARLY. 



toft Stabling aitir f orfe-up fe|-Ji.«s, 

PHJETONS, CARS, &c, WITH CAREFUL DRIVERS. 



PIANOFORTES ON SALE OR HIRE. 



LLANDUDNO, NORTH WALES. 

Situate on the Beach, in the centre of the Bay. 



ELIZABETH HERSEE, PRO PRIETRESS 

The interior arrangements of the House are calculated to meet the require- 
ments of Families, Tourists, and the Public generally. 



mhk V jute at i 

POST HORSES AND CARRIAGES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 

GOOD STABLING AND LOCK-DP COACH HODSES 

For the convenience of Visitors. 



FAMILIES IN LODGINGS SUPPLIED WITH 

WINES, SPIRITS, ALE, AND STOUT, 

On the most reasonable terms. 



HAND-BOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



MISS CHARLOTTE JONES, 

Wo. 8, SI8I1MTI CHSCIMX 

LLA3STDUDITO. 



N.B.— GOOD COACH HOUSE AND STABLES. 

WM. WILLIAMS, 

l& 2£ m, W iiWWM&^B $& W. TO OS) 9 

MOSTYH STREET, LLAMDUDNO. 
REFEES H M E N T " ROOMS. 

London and BuMin Porters* 

BUETON AND OTHER ALES OF THE BEST QUALITY. 

MEALS" AT AMY ] 



ALSO 

C3-OOJD ^.2<TJD WELL-AIBED BEDS. 

REMOVED NEAR THE QUEEN'S HOTEL, 

CORNER OF MOSTYN STREET. 



SAMUEL BARTLEY, 
M0.8TYH iTMEEt, ILJLAMBUJBM©, 

FiMCY MfSSIT@lY ? 

[LOIN] [EM ©S^IPI^ /AM® FAMILY ©^®©i^ 

STATIONERY, VIEWS, & GUIDE BOOKS OF EVERY DESCRIPTION. 



Book Parcels, and London Newspapers, received every Saturday Morning. 



CATHERALL AND PRICHARD S 



ROBERT HUGHES, 
5, MOSTYN STREET, LLANDUDNO, 

GROCER, TEA & PROVISION DEALER. 

N.B. Dealer in all kinds of Fancy Biscuits. 
RICHARD JONES, 

Rafter, €&nUtthmx i (facer, 

tea & FMmmm ©mm 



*9 

CHURCH Y/ALKS, 

LL^^nsriDTJiDisro . 

Home-Cured Hams and Bacon, Prime Cheshire Cheese, Pickles, Sauces, 
and Marmalade. 

BRIDE-CAKES AND FUNERAL BISCUITS MADE TO ORDER. 

APARTMENTS TO LET. 

ROBERT JONES, 

C8NEEOT8NER k TEA ®EAEE1 ? 

(NEAR THE OLD CASTLE), CONWAY. 

Agent for Ellis's Ruthin Celebrated Soda and Potass Waters, 
Lemonade, &c. 

HUNTLEY & PALMER'S READING BISCUITS. DEALER IN 
BRITISH WINES. 

ABERCOMWY TEMPERANCE HOTEL. 

WILLIAM JONES, 
CONFECTIONER AND TEA DEALER, 

HIGH STREET, NEAR THE MARKET, 

CONWAY. 

Agent for Ellis's Ruthin Celebrated Soda Water, Lemonade, dec. 
HAYLOCK AND CO.'S LIVERPOOL BISCUITS. 

N.B. Tea and Coffee at all hours. Well-aired Beds. 



HAND-BOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



CATHERALL AND PRICHARD, 

B@§KSIMJ»S, STATICTItS, 

PRINTERS AND BOOKBINDERS, 

EAiTGATE SOW, (DHEgTEIEo 



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C. & P. have always on hand a well-selected Stock of 
IN PLAIN AND ELEGANT BINDINGS. 



IN ALL ITS BRANCHES. 



OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, NEATLY AND EXPEDITIOUSLY EXECUTED. 



NEW MUSIC 

Constantly on hand ; and any pieces not in Stock procured from London 

by return of post, at a Keduction of Threepence in the Shilling from the 

published price. 



A LARGE ASSORTMENT OF 

VIEWS IN CHESTER AND NORTH WALES. 



*- 



leprt rf % €\p\}m §a0lt-f atotetj $mtMum. 



AGENTS TO THE ATLAS FIRE AND LIFE ASSURANCE OFFICE, 



CATHERALL AND rrjCHAED S 



BANGOR, NORTH WALES. 

Prints, Maps, Guide Books, &c, for Tourists 
in the Principality. 



CATHERALL & NIXON, 
BOOKSELLERS, STATIONERS, MUSIC ANO 

PRSHTSELLERS, 

OPPOSITE THE OLD BANK, BANGOR, 

Have on sale a great variety of Lithographic Views aud Steel Engravings 
of the most 

PICTURESQUE SCENERY IN NORTH WALES, 

PRINTS OF THE 

WELSH COSTUMES, A WELSH WEDDING, &c. 
LARGE & ACCURATE VIEWS OF BANGOR, 

PENEHYN CASTLE, THE MODEL VILLAGE OF LLANDEGAI, 

A SPIRITED SKETCH OF 

.a. hvl-^.:r,:k::e]t jdjlit tjst bjv^tc3-oi2. 7 

AND ALL THE BEST 

TOURISTS' GUIDE BOOKS, MAPS, 

AND 

VOCABULARIES IH ENGLISH AND WELSH. 



VISITORS TO BANGOR 

Will save themselves much time and expense if they purchase, 
PEICE ONE SHILLING, 

CATHERALL'S HAND-BOOK TO BANGOR, 

AND ITS VICINITY. 

It contains a guide to all the objects of interest in the neighbourhood, and 
points out what to do, and how to do it, at the least possible expense and 
loss of time. 



HAND-HOOK TO LLANDUDNO. 



NEW GUIDE TO GBESTER. 



THE BEST GUIDE TO CHESTER 

is 



h 



ft 



11 II m 



IT CONTAINS 



A GREAT NUMBER OF BEAUTIFUL ILLUSTRATIONS, 



AND 



A Full Account of all its Interesting 

ANTIQUITIES, 

1 His t» JBL 1 JOtJfia JMl Ala , 



EAT8N HAIL. 



PUBLISHED BY CATHERALL & PEICHARD, 
EASTGATE ROW, CHESTEE. 



CAT HERALL AND TRTCHARD S 



no r-J=7 is 

CHARGE 

FOR 

^stamping; MADE 

FOR 

STAMPING 

ROTE PAPER AND ENVELOPES 

FROM CREST OR INITIAL DIES 



AT 



CATHERALL & PRXCHARD'S, 

EASTGATE ROW, CHESTER. 



EVERY ARTICLE OF STATIONERY SUPPLIED AT AS 
LOW PRICES AS ANY HOUSE IN THE TRADE. 



H 66 891 



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HECKMAN 

BINDERY INC. 






JUN 89 

N. MANCHESTER, 
INDIANA 46962 





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